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A COST-OF-ILLNESS STUDY ON THE ECONOMIC BURDEN OF BREAST CANCER IN TÜRKIYE: A DELPHI PANEL-BASED ANALYSIS OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT COSTS

SİMTEN MALHAN, MUHAMMED BÜLENT AKINCI, NALAN AKYÜREK, AHMET BILICI, UMUT DEMIRCI, ÇAĞLAYAN GEREDELI, BÜLENT KARABULUT, NURİ KARADURMUŞ, BERNA ÖKSÜZOĞLU, MEHMET ALİ ŞENDUR, ÇİĞDEM ŞAR, ÖZGE ERGIN

Turkish Journal of Oncology - 2024;39(4):383-392

Department of Healthcare Management, Baskent University, Ankara-Türkiye

 

OBJECTIVE To determine the economic burden of breast cancer in Türkiye. METHODS In this cost-of-illness study, per-patient annual direct and indirect medical costs for the management of breast cancer (in newly diagnosed and former patients and in metastatic and non-metastatic disease) were determined based on epidemiological, clinical, and lost productivity inputs provided by a Delphi panel consisting of oncology, general surgery, and pathology experts. RESULTS The mean annual cost per patient for newly diagnosed breast cancer was $21,595.62 for metastatic patients and $4,490.76 for non-metastatic patients. The total annual direct cost of new and former patients was $222,514,612.10. Non-medical costs included transportation, caregiving, and the need for palliative care. The non-medical direct cost for new patients and follow-up patients was $18,917,841.62 and $2,195,169.61, respectively. The total non-medical direct cost of newly and previously diagnosed patients with breast cancer was $21,113,011.23. While the indirect costs for the newly diagnosed patients amounted to $815,199,359.02, the indirect cost for the previously diagnosed breast cancer patients was $169,767,030.43. The total indirect cost was $982,867,753.58. The economic burden of breast cancer was $1,230,416,060.71 in Türkiye. CONCLUSION This cost-of-illness study indicates that breast cancer poses a significant economic burden for Türkiye. A large share of indirect costs in total costs can provide important guidance to decision-makers in the healthcare system to better allocate limited resources to breast cancer prevention and early detection strategies.