2012 Volume 13 Issue 1 Pages 2-6
Cancer is the leading cause of death in Japan and its social burden is also considerable. In this study we estimated the social burden of 9 major cancers in 1996, 2002 and 2008, using cost of illness (COI) method. The burden of stomach cancer and liver cancer has decreased both relatively and absolutely, but the burden of breast cancer, uterine cancer and lung cancer has increased during this time. Change of length of hospital stay and mean age of death as well as change of number of patients and deaths contributed to the change of burdens. Burden of disease and its trend should be taken into account to establish an appropriate health policy for cancer treatment.
