The Economic Burden of Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Iran



Alipour V¹ ; Rad S² ; Nargesi S³ ; Mezginejad F⁴ ; Jahangiri R⁵ ; Dolatshahi Z⁶ ; Mousavi SA² ; Moshkani Z¹
Source: Iranian Journal of Public Health Published:2022

Abstract

Background: Cancer imposes a significant economic burden on the health system and society. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the third deadliest leukemia and is one of the leading health problems worldwide. The present study aimed to estimate the economic burden of AML in Iran for 2020. Methods: In this study, we estimated a prevalence-based on the cost-of-illness of the AML in Iran. A societal perspective was considered, in which the direct costs and productivity losses with the adoption of the human capital approach in the AML cases were estimated for 2020. Moreover, in the present study, several resources including national cancer registry reports, hospital records, occupational data, and interviews with experts were cited. Results: Approximately 98% of patients with AML received induction therapy. The AML economic burden was $33,243,107.39. Indirect costs accounted for 60% (21,593,764.4$) of this amount, and direct medical costs and direct non-medical costs make up for 19% (6,359,380.88$) and 16% (5,289,962.11$) of this estimated economic burden, respectively Conclusion: The economic burden of AML in Iran is very remarkable and due to the increasing prevalence of this disease, it is expected to increase gradually. Having insights into the costs associated with the disease pro-vide an excellent opportunity for health policymakers and managers to effectively improve resource allocation. © 2022 Alipour et al. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted, provided the original work is properly cited.