The Cost of Thromboembolic Events in Hospitalized Patients with Breast or Prostate Cancer in France

Methods: The French national hospital database (PMSI) was analyzed to identify patients diagnosed with BC or PC in 2010 and followed for 2 years. The number of admissions for VTE (or with VTE occurring during hospitalization) and the corresponding number of patients hospitalized were determined using disease-specific International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) codes. Associated hospital costs were estimated from the healthcare payer perspective, using the French official tariffs.

Aims: The aim of the present study was to determine the number of admissions and the cost of hospital management of venous thromboembolism (VTE) events occurring in patients with breast cancer (BC) or prostate cancer (PC).

Results: 62,365 and 45,551 patients diagnosed with BC and PC, respectively, in 2010 were identified from PMSI data; 1,271 (2.0%) and 997 (2.2%) were hospitalized for or had VTE during hospitalization. During the 2 years of follow-up, 346 patients (15%) presented a recurrence of thrombosis requiring hospitalization. A total of 1,604 and 1,210 inpatient VTE-related admissions (stays) in the BC and PC cohorts, respectively, were analyzed. Pulmonary embolism (PE) was the most frequent diagnosis leading to hospital admission in those cancer patients, followed by deep venous thrombosis. Mean cost per admission was €3,302 and €2,916 for first event and recurrence, respectively, in BC patients (total cost €1.98 million over 2 years) and €3,611 and €3,363 for first event and recurrence in PC patients (total cost €1.43 million over 2 years). In patients who had at least one recurrence, mean hospitalization cost was €5,545 and €5,692 in BC and PC, respectively.

Conclusion: The burden of VTE in cancer patients is important; costs should be reduced by decreasing the occurrence of thrombotic recurrences. In this respect, better prevention and follow-up measures may reduce recurrence and VTE costs.