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Estimating Colorectal Cancer Treatment Costs: A Pragmatic Approach Exemplified by Health Insurance Data from Germany

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  • Ulrike Haug
  • Susanne Engel
  • Frank Verheyen
  • Roland Linder

Abstract

Background: The cost of colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment is a crucial parameter to inform cost-effectiveness analyses on CRC screening but it is not readily available and therefore often lacking. We aimed to elaborate and exemplify a pragmatic approach to estimate CRC treatment cost based on health insurance data from Germany. Methods: We included two groups of persons who were continuously health-insured between 2005–2010: A) Cases: Persons with a hospital discharge diagnosis of CRC (ICD C18–C20) between 2007–2010 and no such a diagnosis between 2005–2006 (to focus on incident CRC cases); B) Controls: Persons without a diagnosis of CRC during the observation period, matched to CRC cases by age and sex (matching factor: 1∶5). We considered in-patient, out-patient and drug costs and calculated incremental costs as the difference in means between cases and controls. We divided costs into three phases of care (initial, intermediate and end-of-life phase). Results: The initial, the intermediate and the end-of-life phase included 12,792, 5,280, and 3,779 CRC cases, respectively, and 63,960, 26,400, and 18,895 controls. The mean incremental costs – annualized for each phase – were €26,000, €2,300, and €51,700, respectively. The costs of the initial phase of care were higher for rectal than for colon cancer. Annualized stage-specific cost estimates ranged from €15,000 to €21,300 for early stages and from €29,800 to €35,000 for late stages. Conclusion: This pragmatic and feasible approach provided plausible estimates of CRC treatment costs in Germany; being transferable to other settings, it may thus facilitate to weigh up potential savings in treatment costs against the resources required for CRC control programs in various countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Ulrike Haug & Susanne Engel & Frank Verheyen & Roland Linder, 2014. "Estimating Colorectal Cancer Treatment Costs: A Pragmatic Approach Exemplified by Health Insurance Data from Germany," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(2), pages 1-5, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0088407
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088407
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Laurence Clerc & Valérie Jooste & Catherine Lejeune & Bernard Schmitt & Patrick Arveux & Catherine Quantin & Jean Faivre & Anne-Marie Bouvier, 2008. "Cost of care of colorectal cancers according to health care patterns and stage at diagnosis in France," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 9(4), pages 361-367, November.
    2. B Joseph Elmunzer & Rodney A Hayward & Philip S Schoenfeld & Sameer D Saini & Amar Deshpande & Akbar K Waljee, 2012. "Effect of Flexible Sigmoidoscopy-Based Screening on Incidence and Mortality of Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(12), pages 1-9, December.
    3. L. Tilson & L. Sharp & C. Usher & C. Walsh & Whyte S & A. O’Ceilleachair & C. Stuart & B. Mehigan & M. John Kennedy & P. Tappenden & J. Chilcott & A. Staines & H. Comber & M. Barry, 2012. "Cost of care for colorectal cancer in Ireland: a health care payer perspective," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 13(4), pages 511-524, August.
    4. Panos Kanavos & Willemien Schurer, 2010. "The dynamics of colorectal cancer management in 17 countries," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 10(1), pages 115-129, January.
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    1. Nazim Bhimani & Geoffrey YM Wong & Charles Molloy & Mbathio Dieng & Patrick J Kelly & Thomas J Hugh, 2023. "Lifetime direct healthcare costs of treating colorectal cancer: a systematic review," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 24(4), pages 513-537, June.

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