ABSTRACT

Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies among women and significantly worsens physical, mental and social functioning. The aim is to evaluate the social and economic burden of treatment strategies for breast cancer in the North East region of Bulgaria.

Areas covered: A retrospective, observational, population-based study among patients with breast cancer was performed. Patient characteristics, treatment patterns, and costs were assessed during a four-year period (2016–2019). Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were calculated to estimate the social burden.

Results: Approximately 99% of patients (n = 1,373) were female and the mean age at diagnosis was 60.6 years. The total economic burden of breast cancer during the time of the study was estimated to be 21,076,809.12 BGN where the direct costs were equal to 19,634,509.67 BGN and the total indirect costs due to premature death amounted to 1,442,299.45 BGN. Total DALYs were 110.56 for all patients corresponding to 1,898,340.80 BGN.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates the significant social and economic burden of breast cancer as further, more comprehensive regional and national-based studies related to the total economic burden of breast cancer are required.

摘要

简介：乳腺癌是女性最常见的恶性肿瘤之一，会显着恶化身体、心理和社会功能。目的是评估保加利亚东北地区乳腺癌治疗策略的社会和经济负担。

涵盖的领域：对乳腺癌患者进行了一项回顾性、观察性、基于人群的研究。在四年期间（2016-2019 年）评估了患者特征、治疗模式和费用。计算残疾调整生命年 (DALY) 以估计社会负担。

结果：大约 99% 的患者 ( n = 1,373) 为女性，诊断时的平均年龄为 60.6 岁。研究期间乳腺癌的总经济负担估计为 21,076,809.12 BGN，其中直接成本等于 19,634,509.67 BGN，因过早死亡而导致的总间接成本为 1,442,299.45 BGN。所有患者的总 DALY 为 110.56，对应于 1,898,340.80 BGN。

结论：本研究证明了乳腺癌的重大社会和经济负担，因为需要与乳腺癌的总经济负担相关的更全面的区域和国家研究。