Costs of prostate cancer, metastatic to the bone, in The Netherlands

Objective: To quantify medical costs associated with bone metastases in patients with prostate cancer. Bone metastases in patients with prostate cancer are associated with considerable morbidity, negatively impact quality of life, and can add substantially to medical costs, given a median survival of 30-35 months from diagnosis of bone metastases. Methods: A retrospective cost analysis from both a community and university hospital in The Netherlands was conducted. Twenty-eight patient records (14 from each hospital) were investigated to assess the impact of skeletal-related events (SREs), including fractures, spinal cord compression, and radiotherapy, on total direct medical costs and cost of hospitalization. Costs are given in EUROS (E). Results: The average total cost of treatment was E13,051 per patient over the 24-month follow-up period, which includes an average cost of E6973 per patient to treat SIZES. Treatment of SREs more than doubled total treatment costs. Patients in this analysis experienced, on average, one SIZE per year, and the cost of SIZES varied from E1187 to E40,948. Conclusions: Occurrence of SIZES contributes significantly to the cost of care for patients with advanced prostate cancer. These data suggest that bisphosphonates, which can reduce pain and SREs, may reduce healthcare costs. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.