[Health care costs of cancer patients. Resource utilization by cancer patients].
BACKGROUND
The aim of the study was to estimate the health care costs of cancer patients for each separate year from the time of diagnosis.


METHODS
The data consist of a 20 per cent sample of the Danish population followed up from 1993 to 1997. Civil registration numbers were used to combine various computerised registers to describe the morbidity, mortality, and health care costs of each individual person in the sample. The calculation of the health care costs for the course of events for cancer patients was carried out as a cross-sectional study.


RESULTS
The first year since diagnosis of cancer was by far the most expensive. A cancer patient incurred, on average, costs of DKK 90,000 for the health care sector. In the second year the costs decreased to about one third, and after that they stabilised to between DKK 10,000 and 20,000.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study differs in the fact that health care costs are calculated for cancer patients as opposed to cancer treatment.
Gundgaard
Jens
J
Center for Anvendt Sundhedstjenesteforskning og Teknologivurdering, Syddansk Universitet, Winsløwparken 19, 3., DK-5000 Odense C. jgu@cast.sdu.dk
Nielsen
Jørgen Nørskov
JN
Olsen
Jens
J
Sørensen
Jan
J
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006295:Health Resources / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy