Objective: Medico-economic studies are necessary to evaluate healthcare practices. The objective of this preliminary study is to show how this type of study can be conducted in the general population based on cancer registries.
Material and methods: 122 cases of localized prostate cancer diagnosed in 1995 in the Tarn department were included in this study. A decisional tree of the main diagnostic strategies was elaborated. Direct medical and non-medical costs were considered from the payer's point of view and the 5-year survival was calculated.
Results: The costs of therapeutic management for radical prostatectomy, localized radiotherapy, endocrine therapy and watchful waiting were 55,468, 65,486, 72,211, and 13,929 French francs (8,533, 10,075, 11,109 and 2,143 euros) respectively. The observed 5-year survival was 89%, 84%, 75% and 79% respectively.
Conclusion: This method can be applied to the CCAFU/FRANCIM cohort derived from 5 departments allowing comparisons between regions and healthcare sectors. The time-course could be determined by follow-up of a cohort of cancers diagnosed in 2001.