Expenditure audit of women with breast cancer in a tertiary care hospital of Delhi.

Background: Breast cancer is associated with substantial medical and economic burden. This study assisted the expenditure incurred by the subjects on diagnosis and treatment till the period of follow-up. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study; a case series of patients studied at the time of diagnosis and followed after 6 months. The study was conducted at one of Hospitals in India, from January 2006 to December 2007. One hundred and seventy-two women with new primary breast cancer were included in the study. During the study period 69 subjects were lost to follow-up. The comparative analysis was done for 103 subjects. Cost implications of breast cancer include direct medical costs and indirect costs. Questionnaire for the data collection was used. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were used. Results: The median total direct and indirect expenditure was Rs. 12,100 (US$ 1 = Rs 50) with the range of Rs. 0-54000. The largest component of total direct medical costs was in stage I (median Rs. 6530), total indirect costs (median Rs. 7500), and median total cost was Rs. 17,600. The total expenditures (median Rs. 13,100) were the highest in younger age group (<40). The median direct expenditure was higher in the subjects who visited private setup before coming to Hospital (Rs. 8250) than those who came directly (Rs. 4500). Conclusions: Cost of treatment for breast cancer depends on many factors, including the stages of the cancer, the woman's age, perhaps the costs of treatment, private hospital and insurance.

Risk factors with breast cancer among women in Delhi.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of breast cancer is on the rise in India, breast cancer is the second most common malignancy in Indian women. AIM: The aim of this study was to find out the association of various risk factors with breast cancer among women in Delhi. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a case-control study in Lok Nayak Hospital, Delhi. METHODS AND MATERIAL: 332 women were studied. Subjects were women with breast cancer (N = 115) and age matched Control subjects (N-217) without breast cancer, attending Lok Nayak Hospital during 2006. Subjects were interviewed using a pretested questionnaire. The risk factors studied were: age, parity, socioeconomic status, marital status, breast feeding, menarche, menopause, family history. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data was expressed in proportion. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Age of the patient ranged from 25 to 80 years. In this study, 69 (60%) cases and 127 (58.5%) controls were illiterate, the mean duration sum of total breast feeding for all children was 6.58 years in cases and 7.4 years in controls (OR = 1.91; 95% CI, 1.17 - 3.13) (P P P< 0.05). There was a significant difference between breast cancer cases and controls in relation to place of residence, occupation, marital status, body mass index and breast feeding.