Direct Medical Costs of Breast Cancer in Iran; Analyzing Patients Level Data from a Cancer Specific Hospital in Isfahan, Iran

Breast cancer is one of the main causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Breast cancer is 21. 4% of all cancers among Iranian women. Given the fact that financial and human resources are limited for health care services، the estimation of the direct medical costs of breast cancer can help health policy makers and payers of the cost to understand the burden of breast cancer on their limited financial resources as well as the society. This was a cross-sectional study to calculate the direct medical costs of managing breast cancer among women in Iran. The medical records of all the registered patients in Seyed Alshohada Hospital (SSH) in Isfahan، Iran were used as data source of the study. The patients'' demographic information، disease stages and the received services extracted from the patients'' records. The direct medical costs associated with treating patients in both public and private sectors were calculated. Data were analyzed with statistical software SPSS 16. The mean age of the patients was 49 years. The distribution of the patients in the I-IV stages of the disease were 4. 1%، 28. 8%، 26. 6% and 41. 1%، respectively. The direct medical cost of treating patients in the four stages of disease were IRR (Iranian Rial) 103،809،250; 106،715،180; 133،462،730; and 109،538،070 respectively. The direct medical cost of breast cancer in Iran is more than 304''836 billion IRR in Iran. The mean age of the patients in Iran is almost 10 years lower than the western countries، which is increased the burden of disease in Iran significantly. Drug therapy is the main cost component of the treatment cost. Cost effectiveness analysis of alternative treatments in breast cancer may improve the efficiency of the breast cancer management.