Bladder and upper tract urothelial cancer
Badrinath R Konety1, Geoffrey F Joyce, Matthew Wise
1Department of Urology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-1695, USA. bkonety@urology.ucsf.edu
The Journal of Urology
|April 18, 2007
Summary
Costs for treating bladder and upper tract urothelial cancer increased significantly, driven by more outpatient testing and diagnoses. Focus on selective testing and prevention can help manage future expenditures.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Health Economics
- Oncology
Background:
- Limited population-level data exists on resource utilization and costs for bladder and upper tract urothelial cancers.
- Understanding economic impact and care patterns is crucial for managing these diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the economic impact of treating bladder and upper tract urothelial cancers in the US population.
- To identify the primary cost drivers associated with these cancers.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of population-level data on resource use and costs.
- Determination of patterns of care for bladder and upper tract urothelial cancers.
Main Results:
- Annual treatment costs for bladder and upper urinary tract cancers reached $1 billion and $64 million in 2000, respectively, a significant increase outpacing inflation.
- Care increasingly shifted to outpatient settings, with urologists providing most services; visit frequency correlated with disease stage.
- Increased use of outpatient diagnostic tests like computerized tomography and cystoscopy, alongside a rise in diagnosed cases, were identified as primary cost drivers.
Conclusions:
- Treatment costs for bladder cancer rose steadily despite reduced inpatient care, indicating a shift towards outpatient services.
- Selective use of diagnostic tests, preventive measures like smoking cessation, and early risk identification are recommended to control future healthcare expenditures for urothelial cancers.
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