Investigating Drug Treatment Costs and Patient Characteristics of Female Breast, Cervical, Colorectal, and Prostate Cancers in Antigua and Barbuda: A Retrospective Data Study (2017-2021)

Abstract

Cancers are problematic for health systems globally, including in Antigua and Barbuda, where understanding the changing extent of common cancers is key to implementing effective prevention and control strategies. This study aimed to assess the relationship between treatment rates and drug treatment costs along with characteristics affecting these costs for patients with female breast, cervical, colorectal and prostate cancers in Antigua and Barbuda from 2017 to 2021. A retrospective observational study design was used. Estimates of age-standardized treatment rates and drug treatment costs were determined using direct standardization and a micro-costing approach, respectively. Linear regression was used to evaluate the relationship between age-standardized treatment rates and drug treatment costs. Model independent variables were assessed for multicollinearity and residuals examined for variance and normality. With a sum of 242 cases identified for this study, each cancer type showed evidence of strong positive correlations and significant associations between treatment costs and age-standardized treatment rates. The mean cost (USD) of drug treatment was highest for female breast (USD 25,009.63) and colorectal (USD 13,317.16) cancers and lowest for prostate (USD 12,528.10) and cervical (USD 5121.41) cancers, with several variables showing significance in the respective final models. An association existed between age-standardized treatment rates and drug treatment costs for the cancers studied. These results offer a basis for encouraging strategies in obtaining affordably priced cancer medicines in Antigua and Barbuda.

Keywords: Antigua and Barbuda; breast cancer; cancer; cervical cancer; characteristics; colorectal cancer; costs; drug; prostate cancer; treatment.

Figure 1

Graph showing the aggregate number of cancer cases versus the aggregate drug treatment costs per cancer type.

Figure 2

Scatter plots with fitted values showing the association between drug treatment cost (chemotherapy/androgen deprivation therapy) and age-standardized treatment rates (cases treated per 100,000 population) by cancer type: (A) female breast cancer; (B) cervical cancer; (C) colorectal cancer; and (D) prostate cancer. Dotted lines indicate the fitted values of the regression line.