The Direct Medical Costs of Colorectal Cancer in Iran; Analyzing the Patient’s Level Data from a Cancer Specific Hospital in Isfahan

Abstract

Background: The Immense cost of cancer treatment is one of the main challenges of health care systems all over the world including Iran. The aim of this study was to analyze the direct treatment costs of colorectal cancer patients in Isfahan, Iran.

Methods: In this cross sectional study, the medical records of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients admitted to the Seyyed‑al‑Shohada Hospital “SSH” from 2005-2010 were reviewed. The profiles of 452 patients were examined. However based on inclusion, exclusion criteria a total number of 432 profiles were analyzed. All records including age, sex, treatment processes and treatment costs were extracted from the patients’ profiles and analyzed using Kruskal‑Wallis test.

Findings: The results showed that 56.1% of CRC patients were male. The mean age of patients suffering from CRC was 56 ± 13.4. More than Thirty‑six percent of the patients were in stages 1‑3 of CRC and more than half of them (64.4%) were in the 4th stage. The higher the stage of the cancer the higher the percentage of treatments used. 5-Fluorouracil and Leucovorin (5FU/LV) was the most common used chemical treatment protocol. The mean treatment cost for stage one was 10715 (±4927), for stage two 15920 (±3440), stage three 16452 (±2828) and for stage four was 16723 (±2555) US Dollars. The cost of drug treatment was the first cost driven between the medical services.

Conclusion: CRC in Iranian population starts in younger age than people in western countries. This imposed considerable direct and indirect economic cost to the society. The direct medical cost of colorectal cancer in Iran is very higher than 38 million $. Screening programs could reduce the economic cost of CRC significantly.

Key words: Colorectal cancer, cost analysis, Iran