Today, about 80,000 new cases of bladder cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2017 in the US alone. While 430,000 new Bladder cancer cases were diagnosed in 2012 worldwide.
In the world, bladder cancer is the ninth most common cancer form and the sixth most common cancer in Sweden. The number of newly diagnosed cases of bladder cancer in Sweden is more than 3,000 per year.
In addition, the lifetime treatment costs per patient are very high due to frequent recurrences and a need for invasive monitoring. Depending on the country, the lifetime cost per patient ranges from $96,000 to $202,000. British Colombia has the highest per patient treatment costs and the 5th highest overall cost. In the US alone, it was estimated at $3.4B annually with $2.9B in direct treatment-related costs, in 2006. A further increase occurred in 2012 when an estimated $4.1 billion was spent to treat bladder cancer. The diagnosis and care of bladder cancer thus represents a significant financial burden for patients and society, worldwide.
Given the aging population and the continued technological advances likely to occur over the next decade, such as new urinary markers for bladder cancer, improved endoscopy, and the evolving role of minimally invasive surgery, managing patients with bladder cancer will likely become even more costly than it is today. Thus, there will be growing pressure to contain costs and more efficiently manage care and societal resources.
