Estimating the lifelong health impact and financial burdens of different types of lung cancer

Economic burden of lung cancer in Morocco: A cost of illness study

INTRODUCTION

Lung cancer is the most common cancer in men and the second most common cancer in women. It is associated with substantial economic impact in terms of direct and indirect costs. The main objective of this study is to estimate the direct medical cost of lung cancer management in Morocco MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cost-of-illness study was conducted among patients treated at the Mohammed VI Center of Cancer (Casablanca) in 2019. The costs were estimated from the societal perspective using a bottom-up approach. The materials and procedures used were identified and quantified retrospectively from the information system and files. Their monetary value was calculated according to official prices published by the national health insurance agency. The horizon time adopted was 12 months.

RESULTS

The study included 271 patients, with an average age of 62.5 ± 9.5 years. Of these, 93.4 % were men and 92.1 % were former smokers. In terms of cancer staging, 68.3 % of patients were in stage IV while 28.8 % were in stage III. Adenocarcinoma was present in 43.5 % of cases. Patients underwent an average of 10.6 ± 5.1 radiological investigations, 56.1 ± 30.9 biological tests, and 24.1 ± 11.7 consultations. The average direct medical cost was 4455.3 USD (95 % CI: 4037.4-4873.2). Chemotherapy accounted for 19.9 % of the total cost, while radiological investigations and drugs accounted for 18.7 % and 17.6 %, respectively. Diagnostic tests and radiotherapy each accounted for 7.6 % of the total cost, while biological tests accounted for 7.5 % and hospitalizations accounted for 7.1 %. The cost was statistically higher in young patients (p = 0.017), in patients with adenocarcinoma (p < 0.0001), in patients with stage II tumor (< 0.00001), in patients who have undergone surgery (p = 0.002), chemotherapy (p < 0.0001), radiotherapy (p < 0.001) and in those without metastases (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

These results provide evidence to support the ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the full adherence of the Kingdom of Morocco to the MPOWER measures.

Economic burden of advanced lung cancer patients treated by gefitinib alone and combined with chemotherapy in two regions of China

AIM

To assess the economic burden of different chemotherapies for lung cancer patients and influencing factors in China.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The economic burden of lung cancer, including direct, indirect and intangible costs was measured within three months after diagnosis and treatment. Direct cost included the cost of hospitalization, outpatient visits, out-of-pocket drug purchases, costs of transportation, accommodation and meal expenses while seeking treatments in hospitals. Cost information was attained from questionnaire and patients' medical record. Indirect cost was measured by the patients' and their caregivers' productive days lost due to outpatient visits and hospitalization for lung cancer treatment. Intangible cost was obtained through the willingness-to-pay method from a questionnaire completed by the patient.

RESULTS

Among the total cost of CNY71,401.92, direct cost, indirect cost and intangible cost constituted 89.02%, 4.29%, and 6.69% respectively. Educational level, occupation, family income, lung cancer classification, and the city of residence significantly influenced the total cost.

LIMITATIONS

Limitations in our study included: First, our follow-up period of three months was relatively short compared to the whole survival period of lung cancer patients. Second, the sample size of the chemotherapy combined with targeted therapy group was not large enough, and the cost data obtained would need confirmation in future studies. Third, participants came from only two localities, which may somewhat limit the representativeness of the study results for the whole of China.

CONCLUSIONS

The economic burden of lung cancer treatment mainly came from the cost of the drugs. Patients taking chemotherapy had significantly higher cost compared to patients using targeted therapy. The cost was generally higher for those with higher educational level, those with higher family income, and those living in an economically more developed city. Patients with NSCLC had higher cost compared to patients with SCLC.

Estimation of Utility Values for Computing Quality-adjusted Life Years Associated With Homelessness

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of data-driven evidence about the burden of homelessness, and lack of a holistic measure of effectiveness for evaluating interventions targeting homelessness. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) can help holistically capture the burden of homelessness, and facilitate the valuation and comparison of interventions designed to address homelessness.

OBJECTIVE

This study estimated utility values required to compute the QALYs associated with homelessness, and also examined individual-level characteristics that affect these values.

RESEARCH DESIGN

The study is cross-sectional and derived from a large national survey conducted during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

SUBJECTS

A sample of 6607 middle- and low-income adults in the United States.

MEASURES

A self-completion standard gamble survey was used to estimate utility values associated with homelessness. Linear regression was used to analyze the association between individual-level characteristics and these utility values.

RESULTS

The study estimated the average utility value associated with homelessness as 43.4% among the study participants. This implies that 1 year of life as a homeless individual is perceived to be equivalent to less than half a year of life as a stably housed individual in good health. The study also found that individuals who have experienced homelessness and financial distress value life as a homeless person considerably less than those who have not had these experiences.

CONCLUSIONS

The method developed in this study can be used to estimate QALYs in studies evaluating homelessness interventions, thereby establishing the societal value of these interventions and informing policy and budgetary decision-making. Future studies estimating the utility values associated with homelessness in the general population, as well as specific homeless groups, are required to provide more generalizable evidence.

Economic burden of lung cancer in Turkey: a cost of illness study from payer perspective

BACKGROUND

This study was designed to estimate economic burden of lung cancer in Turkey from payer perspective based on expert panel opinion on practice patterns in clinical practice.

METHODS

In this cost of illness study, direct medical cost was calculated based on cost items related to outpatient visits, laboratory and radiological tests, hospitalizations/interventions, drug treatment, adverse events and metastasis. Indirect cost was calculated based on lost productivity due to early retirement, morbidity and premature death resulting from the illness, the value of lost productivity due to time spent by family caregivers and cost of formal caregivers.

RESULTS

Cost analysis revealed the total per patient annual direct medical cost for small cell lung cancer to be €8772), for non-small-cell lung cancer to be €10,167. Total annual direct medical cost was €497.9 million, total annual indirect medical cost was €1.1 billion and total economic burden of lung cancer was €1.6 billion. Hospitalization/interventions (41%) and indirect costs (68.6%) were the major cost drivers for total direct costs and the overall economic burden of lung cancer, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate per patient direct medical costs of small cell lung cancer and non-small-cell lung cancer to be substantial and comparable, indicating the substantial economic burden of lung cancer in terms of both direct and indirect costs. Our findings indicate that hospitalization/interventions cost item and indirect costs were the major cost drivers for total direct costs and the overall economic burden of lung cancer, respectively. Our findings emphasize the potential role of improved cancer prevention and early diagnosis strategies, by enabling cost savings related to drug treatment and metastasis management cost items, in sustainability of cancer treatments.

Downstream Complications and Healthcare Expenditure after Invasive Procedures for Lung Lesions in Taiwan

This study aimed to estimate the downstream complications and healthcare expenditure after invasive procedures for lung lesions, which in turn could be used for future cost-effectiveness analyses of lung cancer screening in Taiwan. We interlinked the Taiwan National Beneficiary Registry with the National Health Insurance Reimbursement databases to identify non-lung cancer individuals aged 50–80 years who underwent invasive lung procedures within one month after non-contrast chest computed tomography between 2014 and 2016. We directly matched one individual with 10 controls by age, gender, calendar year, residence area, comorbidities, and the past one-year healthcare expenditure to calculate incremental one-month complication rates and attributable costs. A total of 5805 individuals who underwent invasive lung procedures were identified and matched with 58,050 controls. The incremental one-month complication rates were 13.4% (95% CI: 10.9% to 15.8%), 10.7% (95% CI: 9.2% to 12.1%), and 4.4% (95% CI: 2.0% to 6.7%) for thoracic surgery, bronchoscopy, and needle biopsy, respectively. The incremental one-month healthcare expenditure for minor, intermediate, and major complications were NT$1493 (95% CI: NT$-3107 to NT$6092), NT$18,422 (95% CI: NT$13,755 to NT$23,089), and NT$58,021 (95% CI: NT$46,114 to NT$69,929), respectively. Individuals aged 60–64 years incurred the highest incremental costs. Downstream complications and the healthcare expenditure after invasive procedures for lung lesions would be substantial for non-lung cancer individuals 50–80 years of age. These estimates could be used in modeling the cost-effectiveness of the national lung screening program in Taiwan.

Costs of Biopsy and Complications in Patients with Lung Cancer

Purpose

To describe the distribution of diagnostic procedures, rates of complications, and total cost of biopsies for patients with lung cancer.

Patients and Methods

Observational study using data from IBM Marketscan^® Databases for continuously insured adult patients with a primary lung cancer diagnosis and treatment between July 2013 and June 2017. Costs of lung cancer diagnosis covered 6 months prior to index biopsy through treatment. Costs of chest CT scans, biopsy, and post-procedural complications were estimated from total payments. Costs of biopsies incidental to inpatient admissions were estimated by comparable outpatient biopsies.

Results

The database included 22,870 patients who had a total of 37,160 biopsies, of which 16,009 (43.1%) were percutaneous, 14,997 (40.4%) bronchoscopic, 4072 (11.0%) surgical and 2082 (5.6%) mediastinoscopic. Multiple biopsies were performed on 41.9% of patients. The most common complications among patients receiving only one type of biopsy were pneumothorax (1304 patients, 8.4%), bleeding (744 patients, 4.8%) and intubation (400 patients, 2.6%). However, most complications did not require interventions that would add to costs. Median total costs were highest for inpatient surgical biopsies ($29,988) and lowest for outpatient percutaneous biopsies ($1028). Repeat biopsies of the same type increased costs by 40–80%. Complications account for 13% of total costs.

Conclusion

Costs of biopsies to confirm lung cancer diagnosis vary substantially by type of biopsy and setting. Multiple biopsies, inpatient procedures and complications result in higher costs.

Circulating and local nuclear expression of survivin and fibulin-3 genes in discriminating benign from malignant respiratory diseases: correlation analysis

Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis as well as a promoter of cell proliferation. Fibulin-3 is a matrix glycoprotein that displays potential for tumor suppression or propagation. The present study aimed to validate the expression levels of survivin and fibulin-3 in benign and malignant respiratory diseases. This case-control study included 219 patients categorized into five groups. Group A included 63 patients with lung cancer, group B included 63 patients with various benign lung diseases, group D included 45 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), and group E included 48 patients with various benign pleural diseases. Group C included 60 healthy individuals (control group). Serum survivin and fibulin-3 levels were measured by ELISA, whereas their nuclear expressions in the lung and pleura were assessed via Western blot analysis. The results showed significantly higher survivin serum levels and significantly lower fibulin-3 levels in group A compared with in group B and controls (P<0.001). There were significantly higher serum levels of survivin and fibulin-3 in group D compared with in group E and controls (P<0.001), consistent with observed nuclear survivin and fibulin-3 expression levels. Fibulin-3 was determined to have higher value than survivin in discriminating lung cancer from MPM (P<0.05). Survivin and fibulin-3 could be useful diagnostic markers for lung and pleural cancers, and fibulin-3 expression was particularly useful in differentiating lung cancer from MPM.

Estimation of losses of quality-adjusted life expectancy attributed to the combination of cognitive impairment and multimorbidity among Chinese adults aged 45 years and older

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to estimate the losses of quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) due to the joint effects of cognitive impairment and multimorbidity, and to further confirm additional losses attributable to this interaction among middle-aged and elderly Chinese people.

METHODS

The National Cause of Death Monitoring Data were linked with the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). A mapping and assignment method was used to estimate health utility values, which were further used to calculate QALE. Losses of QALE were measured by comparing the differences between subgroups. All the losses of QALE were displayed at two levels: the individual and population levels.

RESULTS

At age 45, the individual-level and population-level losses of QALE attributed to the combination of cognitive impairment and multimorbidity were 7.61 (95% CI: 5.68, 9.57) years and 4.30 (95% CI: 3.43, 5.20) years, respectively. The losses for cognitive impairment alone were 3.10 (95% CI: 2.29, 3.95) years and 1.71 (95% CI: 1.32, 2.13) years at the two levels. Similarly, the losses for multimorbidity alone were 3.53 (95% CI: 2.53, 4.56) years and 1.91 (95% CI: 1.24, 2.63) years at the two levels. Additional losses due to the interaction of cognitive impairment and multimorbidity were indicated by the 0.98 years of the individual-level gap and 0.67 years of the population-level gap.

CONCLUSION

Among middle-aged and elderly Chinese people, cognitive impairment and multimorbidity resulted in substantial losses of QALE, and additional QALE losses were seen due to their interaction at both individual and population levels.

Lifetime survival and medical costs of lung cancer: a semi-parametric estimation from South Korea

Background

It is essential to have information on the disease burden of lung cancer at an individual level throughout the life; however, few such results have been reported. Thus, this study aimed to assess the lifetime disease burden in patients with lung cancer by assessing various factors, such as survival, years of life lost (YLL) and medical expenditure in South Korea based on real-world data and extrapolation.

Methods

Newly diagnosed lung cancer patients (n = 2919) in 2004–2010 were selected and observed until the end of 2015 using nationwide reimbursement claim database. The patients were categorised into the Surgery group, Chemo and/or Radiotherapy group (CTx/RTx), and Surgery+CTx/RTx according to their treatment modality. Age- and sex-matched control subjects were selected from among general population using the life table. The survival and cost data after diagnosis were analysed by a semi-parametric method, the Kaplan–Meier analysis for the first 100 months and rolling extrapolation algorithm for 101–300 months. YLL were derived from the difference in survival between patients and controls.

Results

Lifetime estimates (standard error) were 4.5 (0.2) years for patients and 14.5 (0.1) years for controls and the derived YLL duration was 10.0 (0.2) years. Lifetime survival years showed the following trend: Surgery (14.2 years) > Surgery+CTx/RTx (8.5 years) > CTx/RTx group (3.0 years), and YLL were increased as lifetime survival years decreased (2.3, 8.7, 12.2 years, respectively). The mean lifetime medical cost was estimated at 30,857 USD/patient. Patients in the Surgery group paid higher treatment cost in first year after diagnosis, but the overall mean cost per year was lower at 4359 USD compared with 7075USD of Surgery+CTx/RTx or 7626USD of CTx/RTx group.

Conclusions

Lung cancer has resulted in about 10 years of life lost in overall patients. The losses were associated with treatment modality, and the results indicated that diagnosing lung cancer in patients with low stage disease eligible for surgery is beneficial for reducing disease burden in terms of survival and treatment cost per year throughout the life.

Comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of three first-line EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors: Analysis of real-world data in a tertiary hospital in Taiwan

Introduction

Comparison of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of three first-line EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) would improve patients’ clinical benefits and save costs. Using real-world data, this study attempted to directly compare the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of first-line afatinib, erlotinib, and gefitinib.

Methods

During May 2011-December 2017, all patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) visiting a tertiary center were invited to fill out the EuroQol five-dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaires and World Health Organization Quality of Life, brief version (WHOQOL-BREF), and received follow-ups for survival and direct medical costs. A total of 379 patients with EGFR mutation-positive advanced NSCLC under first-line TKIs were enrolled for analysis. After propensity score matching for the patients receiving afatinib (n = 48), erlotinib (n = 48), and gefitinib (n = 96), we conducted the study from the payers’ perspective with a lifelong time horizon.

Results

Patients receiving afatinib had the worst lifetime psychometric scores, whereas the differences in quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) were modest. Considering 3 treatments together, afatinib was dominated by erlotinib. Erlotinib had an incremental cost-effectiveness of US$17,960/life year and US$12,782/QALY compared with gefitinib. Acceptability curves showed that erlotinib had 58.6% and 78.9% probabilities of being cost-effective given a threshold of 1 Taiwanese per capita GDP per life year and QALY, respectively.

Conclusion

Erlotinib appeared to be cost-effective. Lifetime psychometric scores may provide additional information for effectiveness evaluation.

Dynamic Changes of Health Utility in Lung Cancer Patients Receiving Different Treatments: A 7-Year Follow-up

INTRODUCTION

This study aimed to estimate the utility values of all subtypes of lung cancer. The trajectories after different kinds of treatments and their major determinants were explored on the basis of real-world data and repeated measurements.

METHODS

From 2011 to 2017, all patients with lung cancer who visited a medical center were invited to fill out the EuroQol Five-Dimension and WHO Quality of Life-Brief questionnaires at each visit. Utility values of quality of life (QoL) after diagnosis and treatments were depicted using a kernel smoothing method. We constructed linear mixed models to predict health utility in each time period and cross-validated them with domain scores of the WHO Quality of Life-Brief.

RESULTS

A total of 1715 patients were enrolled, with 6762 QoL measurements. Utility values were lower in patients with advanced-stage disease and older patients. Patients receiving second-line targeted therapy showed higher utility values at 0 to 3 months, 3 to 6 months, and 6 months and beyond (0.89, 0.90, and 0.88, respectively) than did those undergoing chemotherapy (0.81, 0.85, and 0.80, respectively). After using mixed models to control confounders, including poor performance status and disease progression, patients receiving second-line chemotherapy showed health utility similar to that at quasi-baseline, whereas utility values related to second-line targeted therapy were higher at 3 to 6 months and 6 months and beyond (β = 0.07, p = 0.010 and β = 0.07, p < 0.001, respectively). There was convergent validity between the utility values and scores of the physical and psychological domains.

CONCLUSION

Targeted therapy provided treated patients with a higher health utility value than was provided to those treated with chemotherapy. Development of the longitudinal trajectory may help predict changes in QoL and improve the care of lung cancer survivors.

An integrated framework for the identification of potential miRNA-disease association based on novel negative samples extraction strategy

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human complex diseases. Predicting potential miRNA-disease associations could provide important prior information for medical researchers. Therefore, reliable computational models are expected to be an effective supplement for inferring associations between miRNAs and diseases. In this study, we developed a novel calculative model named Negative Samples Extraction based MiRNA-Disease Association prediction (NSEMDA). NSEMDA filtered reliable negative samples by two positive-unlabeled learning models, namely, the Spy and Rocchio techniques and calculated similarity weights for ambiguous samples. The positive samples, reliable negative samples and ambiguous samples with similarity weights were used to construct a Support Vector Machine-Similarity Weight model to predict miRNA-disease associations. NSEMDA improved the credibility of negative samples and reduced the impact of noise samples by introducing ambiguous samples with similarity weights to train prediction model. As a result, NSEMDA achieved the AUC of 0.8899 in global leave-one-out cross validation (LOOCV) and AUC of 0.8353 under local LOOCV. In 100 times 5-fold cross validation, NSEMDA obtained an average AUC of 0.8878 and standard deviation of 0.0014. These AUCs are higher than many classical models. Besides, we also carried out three kinds of case studies to evaluate the performance of NSEMDA. Among the top 50 potential related miRNAs of esophageal neoplasms, lung neoplasms and carcinoma hepatocellular predicted by NSEMDA, 46, 50 and 45 miRNAs were verified to be associated with the investigated disease by experimental evidences, respectively. Therefore, NSEMDA would be a reliable calculative model for inferring miRNA-disease associations.

The short-term health and economic burden of gestational diabetes mellitus in China: a modelling study

OBJECTIVES

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with a higher risk for adverse health outcomes during pregnancy and delivery for both mothers and babies. This study aims to assess the short-term health and economic burden of GDM in China in 2015.

DESIGN

Using TreeAge Pro, an analytical decision model was built to estimate the incremental costs and quality-of-life loss due to GDM, in comparison with pregnancy without GDM from the 28th gestational week until and including childbirth. The model was populated with probabilities and costs based on current literature, clinical guidelines, price lists and expert interviews. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to test the robustness of the results.

PARTICIPANTS

Chinese population who gave birth in 2015.

RESULTS

On average, the cost of a pregnancy with GDM was ¥6677.37 (in 2015 international $1929.87) more (+95%) than a pregnancy without GDM, due to additional expenses during both the pregnancy and delivery: ¥4421.49 for GDM diagnosis and treatment, ¥1340.94 (+26%) for the mother's complications and ¥914.94 (+52%) for neonatal complications. In China, 16.5 million babies were born in 2015. Given a GDM prevalence of 17.5%, the number of pregnancies affected by GDM was estimated at 2.90 million in 2015. Therefore, the annual societal economic burden of GDM was estimated to be ¥19.36 billion (international $5.59 billion). Sensitivity analyses were used to confirm the robustness of the results. Incremental health losses were estimated to be approximately 260 000 quality-adjusted life years.

CONCLUSION

In China, the GDM economic burden is significant, even in the short-term perspective and deserves more attention and awareness. Our findings indicate a clear need to implement GDM prevention and treatment strategies at a national level in order to reduce the economic and health burden at both the population and individual levels.

Cost-effectiveness of implementing computed tomography screening for lung cancer in Taiwan

BACKGROUND

A screening program for lung cancer requires more empirical evidence. Based on the experience of the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), we developed a method to adjust lead-time bias and quality-of-life changes for estimating the cost-effectiveness of implementing computed tomography (CT) screening in Taiwan.

METHODS

The target population was high-risk (≥30 pack-years) smokers between 55 and 75 years of age. From a nation-wide, 13-year follow-up cohort, we estimated quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE), loss-of-QALE, and lifetime healthcare expenditures per case of lung cancer stratified by pathology and stage. Cumulative stage distributions for CT-screening and no-screening were assumed equal to those for CT-screening and radiography-screening in the NLST to estimate the savings of loss-of-QALE and additional costs of lifetime healthcare expenditures after CT screening. Costs attributable to screen-negative subjects, false-positive cases and radiation-induced lung cancer were included to obtain the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio from the public payer's perspective.

RESULTS

The incremental costs were US$22,755 per person. After dividing this by savings of loss-of-QALE (1.16 quality-adjusted life year (QALY)), the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was US$19,683 per QALY. This ratio would fall to US$10,947 per QALY if the stage distribution for CT-screening was the same as that of screen-detected cancers in the NELSON trial.

CONCLUSIONS

Low-dose CT screening for lung cancer among high-risk smokers would be cost-effective in Taiwan. As only about 5% of our women are smokers, future research is necessary to identify the high-risk groups among non-smokers and increase the coverage.

Histologic Distribution of Pulmonary Tumors in Lebanon: A 5-Year Single Institution Experience

BACKGROUND

To compare the current histologic distribution of lung cancer in Lebanon to the worldwide trends, according to the 2004 WHO Classification.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

1,760 patients with a pulmonary pathology examination at Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital between July 2009 and July 2014 were included.

RESULTS

Some 676 out of the total investigated patients (38.4%) had a lung tumor. In 665 (98.4%) the tumors were malignant, with a mean age at diagnosis of 63.8 years and a male/female (M/F) sex ratio of 1.7:1. Among the malignant tumors, 86.2% were epithelial tumors with a mean age at diagnosis of 64.8 years and an M/F sex ratio of 1.9. Other malignant tumors consisted of metastatic tumors (10.2%), lymphoproliferative tumors (2.1%) and mesenchymal tumors (1.5%). Most common carcinoma subtypes were adenocarcinoma (48.0%), squamous cell carcinoma (23.0%) and small cell carcinoma (13.3%). Carcinoid tumors were the only carcinoma subtype with an M/F sex ratio below 1 (0.7). Salivary gland tumors were the carcinoma with lowest mean age at diagnosis (45.5 years).

CONCLUSIONS

The histologic distribution of lung tumors in Lebanon is similar to that in developed countries. We believe this resemblance is due to common smoking habits, known to be responsible for the increase of lung adenocarcinoma at the expense of other subtypes.

The economic burden of cancer in Korea in 2009

BACKGROUND

Cancer imposes a significant economic burden on individuals, families and society. The purpose of this study was to estimate the economic burden of cancer using the healthcare claims and cancer registry data in Korea in 2009.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The economic burden of cancer was estimated using the prevalence data where patients were identified in the Korean Central Cancer Registry. We estimated the medical, non-medical, morbidity and mortality cost due to lost productivity. Medical costs were calculated using the healthcare claims data obtained from the Korean National Health Insurance (KNHI) Corporation. Non-medical costs included the cost of transportation to visit health providers, costs associated with caregiving for cancer patients, and costs for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Data acquired from the Korean National Statistics Office and Ministry of Labor were used to calculate the life expectancy at the time of death, age- and gender-specific wages on average, adjusted for unemployment and labor force participation rate. Sensitivity analysis was performed to derive the current value of foregone future earnings due to premature death, discounted at 3% and 5%.

RESULTS

In 2009, estimated total economic cost of cancer amounted to $17.3 billion at a 3% discount rate. Medical care accounted for 28.3% of total costs, followed by non-medical (17.2%), morbidity (24.2%) and mortality (30.3%) costs.

CONCLUSIONS

Given that the direct medical cost sharply increased over the last decade, we must strive to construct a sustainable health care system that provides better care while lowering the cost. In addition, a comprehensive cancer survivorship policy aimed at lower caregiving cost and higher rate of return to work has become more important than previously considered.

The effects of pulmonary diseases on histologic types of lung cancer in both sexes: a population-based study in Taiwan

Background

The associations between pulmonary diseases (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], and tuberculosis [TB]) and subsequent lung cancer risk have been reported, but few studies have investigated the association with different histologic types of lung cancer.

Methods

Patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer from 2004 to 2008 were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. Histologic types of lung cancer were further confirmed using the Taiwan Cancer Registry Database. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) of asthma, COPD, and TB and to estimate the risk of specific types of lung cancer.

Results

During the study period, 32,759 cases of lung cancer were identified from 15,219,024 insurants aged 20 years and older. In men and women, the adjusted HR estimates of squamous cell carcinoma were respectively 1.37 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.21–1.54) and 2.10 (95 % CI, 1.36–3.23) for TB, 1.52 (95 % CI, 1.42–1.64) and 1.50 (95 % CI, 1.21–1.85) for asthma, and 1.66 (95 % CI, 1.56–1.76) and 1.44 (95 % CI, 1.19–1.74) for COPD. Similarly, the adjusted HR estimates of adenocarcinoma were respectively 1.33 (95 % CI, 1.19–1.50) and 1.86 (95 % CI, 1.57–2.19) for TB, 1.13 (95 % CI, 1.05–1.21) and 1.18 (95 % CI, 1.09–1.28) for asthma, and 1.50 (95 % CI, 1.42–1.59) and 1.33 (95 % CI, 1.25–1.42) for COPD. The HRs of small cell carcinoma were respectively 1.24 (95 % CI, 1.01–1.52) and 2.23 (95 % CI, 1.17–4.25) for TB, 1.51 (95 % CI, 1.35–1.69) and 1.63 (95 % CI, 1.16–2.27) for asthma, and 1.39 (95 % CI, 1.26–1.53) and 1.78 (95 % CI, 1.33–2.39) for COPD.

Conclusions

Asthma, COPD, and TB were associated with an increased risk of all major subtypes of lung cancer. The risk was the highest among women with TB.

Estimating quality-adjusted life-year loss due to noncommunicable diseases in Korean adults through to the year 2040

OBJECTIVES

To estimate the loss in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) in Korean adults due to 13 noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in 2010 and predict changes in QALY loss through to the year 2040.

METHODS

Thirteen NCDs (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, stroke, myocardial infarction, angina, arthritis, osteoporosis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, cataract, and depression) were selected from the Korean Community Health Survey 2010. The EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire index from the Korean Community Health Survey 2010 and the Korean valuation set were used to estimate utility weights according to sex, age, and disease. Morbidity data were also obtained from the Korean Community Health Survey 2010. Mortality data according to disease and life expectancy were retrieved from the Korean Statistical Information Service. To predict future QALY loss, future population projection data from the Korean Statistical Information Service were used as substitutes for 2010 population size.

RESULTS

Among the assessed 13 NCDs, the largest total QALY loss was for hypertension (513,113 QALYs; units are omitted hereafter), followed by arthritis (509,317) and stroke (431,049). The largest QALY loss due to mortality was stroke (306,733), whereas the largest QALY loss due to morbidity was arthritis (502,513). By applying the middle estimate of future population, the largest increase in total QALY loss between 2010 and 2040 was for hypertension (840,582), followed by stroke (719,076) and diabetes mellitus (474,607).

CONCLUSIONS

Hypertension, arthritis, and stroke are important in terms of total QALY loss, which will continuous to increase because of aging. These results could be used to develop cost-effective interventions that reduce the burden of NCDs.

Comparison of expected health impacts for major cancers: integration of incidence rate and loss of quality-adjusted life expectancy

PURPOSE

The study aims to quantify the expected impacts of different cancers through multiplying the incidence rate by loss-of-QALE (quality-adjusted life expectancy), with QALY (quality-adjusted life year) as the common unit, to aid prevention policy decisions.

METHODS

464,722 patients with pathologically verified cancer registered in the Taiwan Cancer Registry during 1998-2009 were used to estimate lifetime survival through Kaplan-Meier estimation combined with a semi-parametric method. A convenience sample for measuring the utility value with EQ-5D was conducted with 11,453 cancer patients, with the results then multiplied by the survival functions to estimate QALE. The loss-of-QALE was calculated by subtracting the QALE of each cancer cohort from the life expectancy of the corresponding age- and gender-matched reference population. The cumulative incidence rates from age 20 to 79 (CIR₂₀₋₇₉) were calculated to estimate the lifetime risk of cancer for each organ-system.

RESULTS

Liver and lung cancer were found the highest expected lifetime health impacts in males and females, or expected lifetime losses of 0.97 and 0.41 QALYs that could be averted, respectively. While the priority changes for prevention based on expected health impacts were slightly different for females based on standardized mortality rates, those of males involve a broader spectrum, including oral, colorectal, esophageal and stomach cancer.

CONCLUSION

The integration of incidence rate with loss-of-QALE could be used to represent the expected losses that could be averted by prevention, which may be useful in prioritizing strategies for cancer control.

Cost-effectiveness of chemotherapy combined with thoracic radiotherapy versus chemotherapy alone for limited stage small cell lung cancer: A population-based propensity-score matched analysis

BACKGROUND

The addition of thoracic radiotherapy improves the outcome of limited stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC), however, the cost-effectiveness of this process has never been reported. We aimed to estimate the short-term cost-effectiveness of chemotherapy combined with thoracic radiotherapy (C-TRT) versus chemotherapy alone (C/T) for LS-SCLC patients from the payer's perspective (Taiwan National Health Insurance).

METHODS

We identified LS-SCLC patients diagnosed within 2007-2009 through a comprehensive population-based database containing cancer and death registries, and reimbursement data. The duration of interest was one year within diagnosis. We included potential confounding covariables through literature searching and our own experience, and used a propensity score to construct a 1:1 population for adjustment. We used a net benefit (NB) approach to evaluate the cost-effectiveness at various willingness-to-pay (WTP) levels. Sensitivity analysis regarding potential unmeasured confounder(s) was performed.

RESULTS

Our study population constituted 74 patients. The mean cost (2013 USD) and survival (year) was higher for C-TRT (42 439 vs. 28 357; 0.94 vs. 0.88). At the common WTP level (50 000 USD/life-year), C-TRT was not cost effective (incremental NB - 11 082) and the probability for C-TRT to be cost effective (i.e. positive net benefit) was 0.005. The result was moderately sensitive to potential unmeasured confounder(s) in sensitivity analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

We provide evidence that when compared to C/T, C-TRT is effective in improving survival, but is not cost-effective in the short-term at a common WTP level from a payer's perspective. This information should be considered by clinicians when discussing thoracic radiotherapy with their LS-SCLC patients.