Estimating the direct costs of oral cancer in Spain: a retrospective hospital data analysis

• Marta Porta-Vázquez ^[1] ; José Luis López-Cedrún ^[2] ; Jacinto Fernández-Sanromán ^[3] ; Eliane García-Mato ^[1] ; Pedro Diz-Dios ^[4] ; Márcio Diniz-Freitas ^[5]
  1. [1] DDS, Medical-Surgical Dentistry Research Group (OMEQUI), Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Santiago de Compostela5/5/2023, Spain
  2. [2] MD, PhD, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, A CorunÞa University Hospital Complex (CHUAC), A CorunÞa, Spain
  3. [3] MD, PhD, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital Rivera POVISA, Vigo, Spain
  4. [4] MD, DDS, PhD, Medical-Surgical Dentistry Research Group (OMEQUI), Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain
  5. [5] DDS, PhD, Medical-Surgical Dentistry Research Group (OMEQUI), Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain

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• Localización: Medicina oral, patología oral y cirugía bucal. Ed. inglesa, ISSN-e 1698-6946, Vol. 28, Nº. 5 (September), 2023
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Studies on the costs incurred from cancer in Spain are scarce and have focused on the most prevalent types such as colorectal, breast, and lung cancer. The aim of this study was to calculate the direct costs associated with the diagnostic, treatment and follow-up procedures for oral cancer in Spain.

    Applying a bottom-up approach, we retrospectively analyzed the medical records of a cohort of 200 patients with oral cancer (C00-C10), diagnosed and treated in Spain between 2015 and 2017. For each patient, we collected their age, sex, degree of medical impairment (American Society of Anesthesiologists [ASA] classification), tumor extent (TNM classification), relapses and survival during the first 2 years of follow-up. The final calculation of the costs is expressed in absolute values in euros as the percentage of the gross domestic product per capita and in international dollars (I$).

    The total cost per patient rose to €16,620 (IQR, €13,726; I$11,634), and the total direct cost at the national level was €136,084,560 (I$95,259,192). The mean cost for oral cancer represented 65.1% of the gross domestic product per capita. The costs for the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures were determined by the ASA grade, tumor size, lymph node infiltration and presence of metastases.

    The direct costs for oral cancer are considerable compared with other types of cancer. In terms of gross domestic product, the costs were similar to those of countries neighboring Spain, such as Italy and Greece. The main determinants of this economic burden were the patient’s degree of medical impairment and tumor extent.