Costs for 5-year lung cancer survivors in a tertiary care hospital in South Korea

• Published in: Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Netherlands), 2010-05, Vol.68 (2), p.299-304
• Main Authors: Park, Young Sik, Kim, Seon Ha, Park, Sue Kyung, Park, Byung-Joo, Kim, Young Tae, Lee, Sang-Min, Yim, Jae-Joon, Yoo, Chul-Gyu, Kim, Young Whan, Han, Sung Koo, Shim, Young-Soo, Yang, Seok-Chul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - economics; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - pathology; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - physiopathology; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - therapy; Cost of Illness; Disease Progression; Economic burden; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health Care Costs; Health care costsl; Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Medicine; Humans; Insurance Claim Review - statistics & numerical data; Lung cancer; Lung cancer survivorsl; Lung Neoplasms - economics; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Lung Neoplasms - physiopathology; Lung Neoplasms - therapy; Male; Medical economicsl; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; Pneumology; Pulmonary/Respiratory; Republic of Korea; Retrospective Studies; Time Factors; Tumors; Tumors of the respiratory system and mediastinum
• ISSN: 0169-5002; 1872-8332
• DOI: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2009.06.016

Abstract Introduction As the population of patients with lung cancer increases, the expenditure on lung cancer treatment will become a huge economic burden in many countries. To support public health services for the treatment of lung cancer, the calculation of lung cancer-specific costs is important. Methods This study included newly diagnosed 76 lung cancer patients who had survived for at least 5 years after the diagnosis in a tertiary care hospital in South Korea. Direct medical costs were calculated from health care claims obtained from Seoul National University Hospital, which included out-of-pocket expenditures. Direct non-medical and indirect costs were calculated from national statistics. Results Mean direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs, and indirect costs amounted to $21,321, $6444 and $4943 respectively, based on an exchange rate of Korean Won 1200 = US $1. The average cost for treatment of one lung cancer patient for all 5 years was $32,708. This constituted 44.7% of the per capita income during the same 5-year period. Conclusion The economic burden of lung cancer treatment is significant in Korea.