The health-related quality of life and Economic burden on Cancer Patients in Japan

Abstract

Abstract Background Information on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and economic burden are becoming more important in order to select the optimal treatments while considering increasing medical costs. However, limited research focusing on them has been done. We aim to compare HRQoL, work productivity, and estimated economic losses between patients with any types of cancer and non-cancer patients in Japan. Methods Data were obtained from the 2017 Japan National Health and Wellness Survey database including 30,001 participants, a cross-sectional survey representative of the Japanese adult population. Respondents without cancer were identified as the non-cancer group. Mental component summary (MCS) and physical component summary (PCS) of the SF-12v2 were used. The economic losses estimated from annual indirect costs derived from work productivity and activity impairment (WPAI) score and average wage were calculated using the human capital method. Results Cancer patients with who undergo treatment (A: N = 330), not cancer treatment currently (B: N = 1,210) and non-cancer patients (C: N = 28,070) were included in the analysis. Undergo cancer treatment patients had significantly lower compare to other groups on MCS value (43.68 vs. 46.38 vs. 46.55, A vs. B p Conclusion Patients with any types of cancer had higher burden compared to those without in terms of lower HRQoL, higher WPAI, and higher indirect costs. These findings would be useful for the discussion of the value in cancer treatments by multiple perspectives and health technology assessment process.