Costs of illness for melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer in Denmark

Incidences of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer are high and increasing in many countries including Denmark. The diseases are highly preventable. We have estimated the healthcare costs of these cancers by comparing costs for cohorts of patients and matched controls in a national register-based study in Denmark. All incident patients with a diagnosis of melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, or squamous cell carcinoma in the period 2004-2008 were included. Four control individuals for each case were matched in terms of sex, age, and area of residence. Healthcare costs and productivity loss for patients and controls were estimated using Danish health and social registries 3 years before and 3 years after diagnosis. The healthcare costs of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer were Euro33.3 million in the 3-year period after diagnosis, with male patients inducing the highest costs for all three cancers and costs increasing with age. The diagnoses of basal cell carcinoma and melanoma had almost the same healthcare costs, but per patient average healthcare costs were higher for melanoma. The costs of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers, which can be prevented by sensible sun habits, exceed the costs of the preventive measures of the Danish SunSmart campaign manifold. Costs of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer are expected to increase in the future with populations aging in the western world. The analyses provide a strong argument for the societal rationale of skin cancer prevention in Denmark. (C) 2013 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.