The costs of breast cancer in a Mexican public health institution

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is the second leading cause of death as a result of neoplasia in Mexico. This study aimed to identify the direct and indirect costs of treating female outpatients diagnosed with BC at a Mexican public hospital. A cross-sectional, observational, analytical study was conducted. A total of 506 medical records were analyzed and 102 were included in the cost analysis. The micro-costing process was used to estimate treatment costs. A 17-item questionnaire was used to obtain information on direct and indirect costs. Of the 102 women with BC included in the study, 92.2% (94) were at Stage II, and only 7.8% at Stage I. Total direct costs over six months for the 82 women who had modified radical mastectomy (MRM) surgury were US$733,821.15. Total direct costs for the 15 patients with conservative surgery (CS) were US$138,190.39. We found that the total economic burden in the study population was much higher for patients with MRM than for patients with CS.

The household financial burden of non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

“… Direct non-medical costs : Some direct non-medical cost ingredients were recurrent among most studies, but the studies were not always consistent in the number of cost ingredients included. For example, some studies costed food and transport only [ 80 , 81 ] while others further included caretaker cost, and accommodation [ 79 , 82 ]. Indirect costs : The indirect costs were also calculated differently among the studies.…”