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Pancreatic cancer: total costs and utilization of health services
1University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, USA. lwilson@itsa.ucsf.edu
Background And Objectives:
Pancreatic cancer ranks 11th in incidence, and fifth in cancer deaths, with 29,000 affected annually. Accurate estimates of the cost of pancreatic cancer are unavailable; existing estimates are variable or not generalizable. This paper presents detailed cost estimates for pancreatic cancer by service, age, and gender.
Methods:
Direct and indirect societal costs are determined using a prevalence-based, human capital approach.
Results:
Total annual costs are $4.9 billion, (men: $3.0 billion, women: $1.9 billion). Total direct costs are $881 million, with 71% ($627.1 M/$881.3 M) for those over 65 years. Total hospital costs are 77% ($679.5 M/$881.3 M) of total direct costs. Total indirect costs are $4.0 billion, with 63% ($2,518.43 M/$4,018 M) for those 45 to 64 years. Mortality costs are $3.7 billion, 93% ($3,739 M/$4,018 M) of indirect costs.
Conclusions:
This paper presents cost estimates that are precise and generalizable to the general population. The surgical cost burden may be less than indicated previously, with most hospitalizations not including a major procedure, and average operating room costs accounting for only 9% ($1,045/$11,055) of hospital costs. Women have significantly less cancer-directed surgery than men.