The economic burden associated with colon cancer in the United States

Colon cancer, the second most frequent cause of cancer deaths in the United States, is primarily a disease of the elderly. As the current population ages in the coming decades, the economic burden of colon cancer is expected to increase substantially. The primary objective of this study was to estimate the economic burden of hospitalizations for colon cancer. Secondary objectives were to assess the relationship between risk factors, including age, and treatment charges and to estimate the number of hospital admissions through the year 2050. We examined hospital discharge data for the years 1991 through 1994 from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project of the US Agency for Health Care Policy and Research to assess the characteristics of hospitalizations forcolon cancer in the United States. Census data were used to project the annual number of admissions through the year 2050. The mean number of admissions for colon cancer was 237,754 per year, the mean length of stay was 11.1 days per admission, and mean total hospital charges were $4.57 billion per year. Most of the charges were incurred by people aged > or = 60 years (83.08%) and by people with no known risk factors for colon cancer (93.96%). Based on census projections, between 1992 and 2050 the annual number of colon cancer-related admissions will increase from 215,000 to 471,000 in people aged > or = 50 years and from 192,000 to 448,000 in people aged > or = 60 years. Knowledge of additional risk factors and more effective preventive, screening, diagnostic, and treatment procedures may help prevent the predicted increase in colon cancer-related hospitalizations in the next century.