Excess healthcare expenditure in adults treated for solid cancer in childhood: a cohort study in France

Abstract

Background: Due to late effects, childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are more likely to have multiple chronic conditions than the general population. However, little is known about the economic burden of care of CCS in the long term.

Objectives: To estimate excess healthcare expenditure for long-term CCS in France compared to the general population and to investigate the associated factors.

Methods: We included 5353 5-year solid CCS diagnosed before the age of 21 years before 2000 from the French CCS cohort and obtained a random reference sample from the general population for each CCS, matched on age, gender and region of residence. We used the French national health data system to estimate annual healthcare expenditure between 2011 and 2018 for CCS and the reference sample, and computed the excess as the net difference between CCS expenditure and the median expenditure of the reference sample. We used repeated-measures linear models to estimate associations between excess healthcare expenditure and CCS characteristics.

Results: Annual mean (95% CI) excess healthcare expenditure was €3920 (3539; 4301), mainly for hospitalization (39.6%) and pharmacy expenses (17%). Higher excess was significantly associated with having been treated before the 1990s and having survived a central nervous system tumor, whereas lower excess was associated with CCS who had not received treatment with radiotherapy.

Conclusions: Of the variables that influence excess healthcare expenditure, a lever for action is the type of treatment administered. Future research should focus on addressing the long-term cost-effectiveness of new approaches, especially those related to radiotherapy.

Keywords: Childhood cancer; Economic burden; France; Late effects.