The burgeoning cost of cancer in NZ – study
The cost of treating cancer in the New Zealand public health sector is more than $800 million annually – hundreds of
millions higher than previous estimates, according to University of Otago research.
Researchers from the University’s Department of Public Health, based in Wellington, have used a new method to calculate
the total cost of treating cancer in the public sector, including costs by cancer type.
They calculated that the total cost of treating cancer in the public health system was $880 million, which is 26 percent
greater than the Ministry of Health estimate (of $526 million) for the same period (based on data collected between 2010
and 2011).
According to the research, the cancers that the most public health dollars are being spent on annually are: colon (15%);
breast (14%); and prostate, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukaemia (each at 6%).
The researchers found the cost varied greatly by cancer type. Melanoma is one of the cheapest cancers to treat at $8000
per diagnosed and treated case, whereas leukaemia, which costs on average $95,000 a case, is the most costly.
The lead author of the study, Professor Tony Blakely, says while the amount of money spent per cancer case was about the
same for women and men, there was a noticeable difference in terms of how much was spent based on patient age.
“For example we spend more on 45 year olds than we do on 85 year olds. This suggests that the health system is working
even harder to save younger lives through more actively pursuing such treatment options as surgery, chemotherapy and
radiotherapy.”
Professor Blakely says he supported the introduction of more preventative measures that targeted known cancer causes.
“New Zealand has done a good job in many areas of cancer prevention by increasing tobacco control through taxes and law
changes, and by increasing the tax on alcohol. The introduction of anti-cancer vaccines for human papilloma virus (HPV)
and hepatitis B, and occupational health strategies such as banning asbestos imports, are other preventative measures
that are helping in the reduce the cancer burden but much more could be done – especially in accelerating progress
towards achieving the Government’s smokefree goal by 2025.”
Professor Blakely says there is a need for a national bowel cancer screening programme, especially since such programmes
have proved to be cost-effective internationally and because colon cancer was the most costly cancer type overall.
Study co-author, Associate Professor Nick Wilson, from the University of Otago, Wellington, says it makes sense to
introduce preventive measures that target New Zealand’s obesity epidemic because it would lower the cancer burden and
help curb the country’s burgeoning healthcare bill.
“There are things that can be easily done by taking the food industry to task on food labelling, portion size and
advertising junk food to kids. Then there is the issue of taxing unhealthy food. Without a doubt the Government should
be following other countries and looking at a tax on sugary drinks as a start. It would not only save in terms of
obesity and cancer costs but help in the fight against diabetes – a particularly expensive disease.”
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