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Oral cancer could be more costly to treat than any other cancer.
Delta Dental of Michigan’s Research and Data Institute found that any cancer associated with the oral cavity, oral pharyngeal and salivary gland could cost more to treat than other types of cancer. The details about the study will appear in the journal Head and Neck Oncology.
The entities involved in the study were Thomson Reuters, Delta Dental of Wisconsin, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry.
The researchers analyzed information from the Thomson Reuters MarketScan Research Databases. In the year after being diagnosed with oral cancer, these patients spent nearly $80,000 on medical costs, according to the databases. Conversely, similar patients without cancer spent less $8,000 in that time frame.
The study analyzed all of the secondary aspects involved with oral cancer costs as well. These things included indirect costs that result from oral cancer and the increased costs for taxpayers that fund Medicare and Medicaid.
Most research about oral cancer explains treatment methods and the survival rate for people who suffer from oral cancer. The goal of this study, however, was to learn about the costs and other factors that impact a person after being diagnosed with oral cancer.
There will be more research in the coming years to learn more about the secondary aspects that people with oral cancer deal with.
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