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Abstract
IntroductionThe South American country Chile now boasts a life expectancy of over 80 years. As a consequence, Chile now faces the increasing social and economic burden of cancer and must implement political policy to deliver equitable cancer care. Hindering the development of a national cancer policy is the lack of comprehensive analysis of cancer infrastructure and economic impact.ObjectivesEvaluate existing cancer policy, the extent of national investigation and the socio-economic impact of cancer to deliver guidelines for the framing of an equitable national cancer policy.MethodsBurden, research and care-policy systems were assessed by triangulating objective system metrics – epidemiological, economic, etc. – with political and policy analysis. Analysis of the literature and governmental databases was performed. The oncology community was interviewed and surveyed.ResultsChile utilizes 1% of its gross domestic product on cancer care and treatment. We estimate that the economic impact as measured in Disability Adjusted Life Years to be US$ 3.5 billion. Persistent inequalities still occur in cancer distribution and treatment. A high quality cancer research community is expanding, however, insufficient funding is directed towards disproportionally prevalent stomach, lung and gallbladder cancers.ConclusionsChile has a rapidly ageing population wherein 40% smoke, 67% are overweight and 18% abuse alcohol, and thus the corresponding burden of cancer will have a negative impact on an affordable health care system. We conclude that the Chilean government must develop a national cancer strategy, which the authors outline herein and believe is essential to permit equitable cancer care for the country.
Highlights
The South American country Chile boasts a life expectancy of over 80 years
Chile has a rapidly ageing population wherein 40% smoke, 67% are overweight and 18% abuse alcohol, and the corresponding burden of cancer will have a negative impact on an affordable health care system
Whilst no formal economic studies of the burden of cancer have been conducted in Chile, the authors of this paper have estimated that the national income lost to cancer per year Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) is US$ 3.5 billion
Summary
Chile faces the increasing social and economic burden of cancer and must implement political policy to deliver equitable cancer care. It is anticipated that the developing world will bear the brunt of cancer incidence and mortality in the coming expectancy in Chile currently stands at 80 years (77 years for men and 83 years for women), placing it above the average of both upper middle-income countries (74 years) and high income countries (79 years) as estimated by the World Health Organization and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) [7,8]. Recent preliminary data from the Ministry of Social Development indicates that 15.6% of Chileans were >60 years old in 2011, suggesting that Chile may be underestimating the population age structure and the burden of aging-related public health in the coming years [10]. In a society stratified from A to E, where ABC are high level earners and make up 5% of the country, E is the poverty line (15% population) and D is the majority of Chileans (75%), a clear separation in cancer incidence has been reported [6]
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