• Manuel A Espinoza, Nicolás Armijo, Tomás Abbott, Jorge Jiménez, and Carlos Balmaceda.
• Unidad de Evaluación de Tecnologías en Salud, Centro de Investigación Clínica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
• Rev Med Chil. 2022 Nov 1; 150 (11): 143814491438-1449.

BackgroundCancer is a public health priority in Chile.AimTo estimate the expected annual cost of cancer in Chile, due to direct costs of health services, working allowances and indirect costs for productivity losses.Material And MethodsWe undertook an ascendent costing methodology to calculate direct costs. We built diagnostic, treatment and follow-up cost baskets for each cancer type. Further, we estimated the expenditure due to sick leave subsidies. Both estimates were performed either for the public or private sector. Costs related to productivity loss were estimated using the human capital approach, incorporating disease related absenteeism premature deaths. The time frame for all estimates was one year.ResultsThe annual expected costs attributed to cancer was $1,557 billion of Chilean pesos. The health services expected annual costs were $1,436 billion, 67% of which are spent on five cancer groups (digestive, hematologic, respiratory, breast and urinary tract). The expected costs of sick leave subsidies and productivity loss were $48 and $71 billion, respectively.ConclusionsCancer generates costs to the health system, which obliges health planners to allocate a significant proportion of the health budget to this disease. The expected costs estimated in this study are equivalent to 8.9% of all health expenditures and 0.69% of the Gross Domestic Product. This study provides an updated reference for future research, such as those aimed at evaluating the current health policies in cancer.

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