Comparing the cost of non-metastatic breast cancer care in a low-income vs a high-income country: A plea for an optimal allocation of health resources in Sub-Saharan Africa

Autores da FMUP

• Nuno Miguel De Sousa Lunet

  Autor

Participantes de fora da FMUP

• Brandao, M
• Morais, S
• Guisseve, A
• Bata, G
• Borges, M
• Tulsidas, S
• Pereira, S
• Carrilho, C

Unidades de investigação

• Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses, e Educação Médica

Abstract

Breast cancer incidence is rising in low-income countries, but there is limited information regarding health resource allocation for its care. We assessed the cost of care during the first three years after diagnosis in a low-income country (Mozambique; n = 162 women) and compared it with a high-income country (Portugal, n = 703 women). Local currency prices were converted to 2019 international dollars (Int$). In Mozambique, the median cost was lower than in Portugal (2888 vs 18,533 Int$, respectively) and did not vary across stage or tumor subtype. These findings may help improving resource allocation for breast cancer care in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite reflecting an underfunding of treatment in this setting. ? 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Keywords

• Breast neoplasms; Sub-Saharan Africa; Developing countries; Global health; Costs and cost analysis; Cancer staging