07.11.12
Cancers cost UK economy £15.8bn
Lung cancer costs the UK economy £2.4bn each year, higher than any other form of cancer, new research shows.
An Oxford University study presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) found that the total annual cost of all cancers to the UK economy is £15.8bn. Half of this is due to premature deaths and time off work, followed by healthcare costs (35%), and unpaid care to cancer patients by friends and family (16%).
Each lung cancer patient costs the UK health system £9,071 annually, compared with £2,756 for bowel cancer, £1,584 for prostrate cancer and £1,076 for breast cancer survivors.
Every year 41,500 people are diagnosed with lung cancer and almost 35,000 die from the disease. The NCRI and Cancer Research UK are highlighting the need to dissuade people from starting smoking – as more than eight in 10 lung cancers are caused by it.
Research author, Dr Jose Leal, at the Health Economics Research Centre, University of Oxford, said: “Lung cancer costs more than any other cancer – mainly because of potential wage losses due to premature deaths from people in employment – about 60% of the total economic costs – and high health care costs. The death rate from the disease remains high at 56 deaths per 100,000 people in the UK population annually, and almost a quarter of these occur before retirement.
“Our research shows that cancers impact the economy as a whole – and not just the health service. Premature deaths, time off work and unpaid care by friends and family account for 64% of all cancer costs (£10.2bn) in the UK in 2009.
“These wider costs should be taken into account when deciding research priorities. Cancers with the highest economic cost could offer the highest expected returns from investment in research.”
Dr Jane Cope, director of the NCRI, added: “These figures remind us that cancer has a cost, not just in professional healthcare but also in loss of earnings for patients, and for loved ones who give up work to look after them. Since 86% of lung cancer deaths are linked to smoking, we can reduce these financial and societal costs by helping people to stop smoking.”
And Jean King, Cancer Research UK’s director of tobacco control, said: “This research highlights the stark economic impact of different cancers. It’s vital we prevent more young people from becoming addicted to a product that will kill half of all long term smokers.
“History has shown that reducing smoking rates leads to reduced lung cancer rates. We urge the Government to take the next step and introduce plain, standardised packaging for all tobacco products as soon as possible.”
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