The annual socio-economic cost of breast cancer in Cyprus is estimated at 180.9 million euros, according to a new scientific study, which captures not only the costs of dealing with the disease, but also its impact on the work and daily life of patients.
The study, entitled "Economic burden of breast cancer in Cyprus from a societal perspective", is the first published study in Cyprus to examine the economic burden of breast cancer from a social perspective, while comparing the cost of early and metastatic disease.
Her findings were presented on October 20 in Nicosia, at an event organized by Novartis Cyprus, under the auspices of the Cyprus Medical Association and the Cyprus Federation of Patients' Associations.
The presentation was made by the lead author of the study, Dr. Yola Markou, a medical oncologist at the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Center.
Almost double the cost in metastatic disease
One of the most important findings concerns the large difference in costs depending on the stage of the cancer.
According to the study, the average annual cost per patient with early breast cancer is estimated at €13,264, while in metastatic disease it increases to €26,360.
The difference highlights the importance of early diagnosis and effective treatment of the disease, as its progression is accompanied by significantly greater care needs.
Even greater variations are recorded depending on the molecular subtype of the cancer. In HER2-positive breast cancer, the cost per patient in the metastatic stage is about 3.5 times higher than in early disease.
At the same time, the average total cost per patient, regardless of stage, was estimated at €14,697 for HR+/HER2 cancer, €18,849 for HER2-positive and €36,674 for triple-negative breast cancer.
Where are the €180.9 million?
The largest category of expenditure, 68.5%, concerns the management of the disease, which includes, among others, hospitalizations, surgeries, radiotherapy, genetic testing and symptom management.
Pharmaceutical expenditure accounts for 11.7% of the total cost, while the use of other health resources, such as laboratory and imaging tests, accounts for 9.2%.
The indirect costs caused by the disease are also significant. The loss of productivity accounts for 10.6% of the total amount, i.e. around €19.2 million per year.
This is a financial impact linked to absenteeism from work and reflects part of the difficulties faced by patients beyond medical treatment.
The researchers point out that the real social burden of the disease may be greater than what is reflected in the calculations.
This is because it has not been possible to quantify specific cost categories, such as home care and informal care provided by relatives and other persons.
Effects such as pain and depression, for which no data were available, were also left out of the calculations.
As a result, the study acknowledges that indirect costs may have been underestimated.
Need for more Cypriot data
The research was published in the scientific journal Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research and was based on a combination of available national and published data, cost data, clinical guidelines, expert assessments and patient questionnaires.
After the presentation, a discussion took place with the participation of representatives of the medical community, patients and the health system.
One of the key conclusions is the need to carry out larger and regularly updated studies in Cyprus, so that decisions on prevention, diagnosis and treatment are based on reliable local data.
The study was funded by Novartis Pharma Services Inc. Cyprus. According to the publication, the funder had no role in the design, collection and analysis of the data or in the decision to publish, while its employees participated as authors based on the stipulated criteria of scientific contribution.
