Societal costs after renal cancer surgery.

Abstract

512 Background: The hospital costs of radical or partial nephrectomy for treatment of confirmed or suspected renal cell carcinoma have been well described. We sought to estimate a previously unreported societal cost of renal cancer surgery by assessing surgery-related time off work (TOW) taken by patients and their caretakers. Methods: To a cohort of 315 subjects enrolled in an IRB-approved prospective renal quality-of-life study who underwent radical or partial nephrectomy at our institution, we administered an occupational survey asking subjects to recall employment status, physical demands at work (sedentary, moderate activity, heavy lifting), income by tax bracket, surgery-related TOW (in days), and caretaker assistance. We excluded subjects who underwent cytoreductive nephrectomy. We estimated potential wages lost using individual income and TOW, and used logistic regression to assess for factors predictive of TOW > 30 days. Results: Of the 108 subjects who responded to the survey, 69 were employed at time of surgery. 4 subjects did not return to work after surgery, all of whom were older than 65. 12 subjects were excluded per the above-described criteria, leaving 53 subjects with complete occupational information. Mean (SD) age was 54. The majority (54%) of subjects had sedentary jobs. Subjects’ time off work ranged from 14 to 88 days; mean (SD) and median (IQR) TOW was 38 (17) and 34 (26-45) days, respectively. Mean potential wages lost for TOW was $10,371 (SD=$7,966). 23 (43%) subjects had at least one caretaker take TOW (mean/median caretaker TOW: 10/5 days, respectively) to assist in post-operative recovery. On univariate and multivariable analysis, age, work physicality, type of surgery (radical vs partial nephrectomy), surgical approach (minimally invasive vs open), income bracket, post-operative complications, or caretaker assistance were not significantly associated with taking > 30 days off from work. Conclusions: Despite advances in minimally invasive surgery, most patients take over one month off from work after renal cancer surgery. Incorporating these societal costs may allow for more comprehensive cost-effectiveness analyses in renal cancer care. Future directions include assessing TOW prospectively in a larger, more diverse cohort.