Hospitalization costs of treating colorectal cancer in China: A retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to explore the influence factors of hospitalization costs of treating colorectal cancer in China. And the study provides new estimates on hospitalization costs and length of hospital stay for patients with colorectal cancer in China. METHODS: Data for inpatient hospitalization associated with colorectal cancer were obtained from a 3-tier hospital in Guangdong Province and were analyzed post hoc. We conducted descriptive statistical methods, Wilcoxon rank-sum tests (for 2 groups) and the Kruskal-Wallis test (for more than 2 groups) to analyze the hospitalization costs of treating colorectal cancer. RESULTS: The analysis included 8021 patients (female: 40.54%; mean age; 61.80 ±â€Š13.28 years; male: 59.46%; mean age: 61.80 ±â€Š13.28 years). The overall mean length of hospital stay was 11.35 days. Over the 5 years, the mean length of hospital stay showed a small decrease from 12.22 days in 2012 to 10.69 days in 2016, while per-day costs showed a trend of increase between 2012 and 2015 (increase from < 1190.94 to < 1382.50). The mean length of hospital stay was statistically significant difference was found for sexes (P = .039) and insurance status (P < .001). The mean hospitalization costs were < 16,279.58. Mean hospitalization costs were different among the UEBMI, the URBMI and the Unspecified (< 17,114.58, < 15,555.05, and < 17,735.30, respectively; P < .001). CONCLUSION: The study showed that hospitalization costs increase were associated with a small decreasing length of hospital stay and increasing per-day hospitalization costs. Moreover, the proportion of the hospitalization costs reimbursed by insurances increased. For inpatients with UEBMI, it possibly lead to over treatment and the medical expense rise which result in medical resources waste and significant society costs. The rising hospitalization costs may lead to a remarkably increased financial burden in the future in China.

Breast cancer laterality and molecular subtype likely share a common risk factor.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the epidemiological features of breast cancer laterality and molecular subtypes in southern China. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 2,049 cases who were diagnosed with unilateral breast cancer in the past 5 years were classified based on laterality and molecular subtypes. Molecular subtypes were defined in accordance with the 2013 St. Gallen recommendations. RESULTS: Breast cancer was more likely to be diagnosed in the left breast than in the right at a rate of around 5%. In the case of invasive carcinomas, the right breast was more commonly affected than the left in young (<40 years old) patients (left-to-right [L:R] ratio 0.80, 95% CI 0.65, 0.98), whereas the opposite trend was found in old (≥40 years old) patients (L:R ratio 1.06, 95% CI 1.02, 1.73). Except for invasive mucinous and invasive medullary breast cancers, the other histological types occurred more frequently on the left side than on the right. In situ cancer with a defined subtype was likely to be diagnosed as luminal B(HER-2+). Except for invasive medullary and invasive nonspecific cancers, other invasive carcinomas with a defined subtype were most likely to be diagnosed as luminal B(HER-2-). The age of ≥40 years was a risk factor for luminal B(HER-2+), and a significant correlation was present between the right breast and luminal B(HER-2+). CONCLUSION: We explored the risk factors of breast cancer laterality and various molecular subtypes and found that age may be a predictor of breast cancer laterality. We found that age and laterality are the probable risk factors of the luminal B(HER-2+) type of breast cancer. These results provide a basis for the epidemiological characterization of breast cancer.