West Asia Organization for Cancer Prevention (WAOCP), APOCP's West Asia Chapter. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 1513-7368 20 2 2019 02 01 Economic Burden of Head and Neck Cancer Treatment in North India 403 409 82400 10.31557/APJCP.2019.20.2.403 EN Akashdeep Singh Chauhan School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. Shankar Prinja School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. 0000-0001-7719-6986 Sushmita Ghoshal Department of Radiotherapy, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. Roshan Verma Department of Otolaryngology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. Journal Article 2017 12 28 Background: The rising cost of cancer treatment has imposed a huge financial burden on the affected households,<br />leading to catastrophic outcomes and impoverishment. The present study was designed to estimate the economic<br />burden incurred by households for the treatment of head and neck cancer (HNC) in India. Methods: The present study<br />was undertaken in a large public sector tertiary care hospital of North India. A total of 159 patients were recruited<br />at time of their first registration in the department of Radiation Oncology, and were followed after completion of<br />their treatment. Another 288 were recruited within one month after completion of treatment. Economic burden was<br />assessed in terms of out of pocket (OOP) expenditure incurred, prevalence of catastrophic health expenditure and<br />distress financing (borrowing or selling of assets) related to different modalities of cancer treatment. Results: The<br />average OOP expenditure incurred by a patient of HNC patient was INR 37, 845 (USD 563), which varied from INR<br />32,379 (USD 482) when a patient undergoes radiotherapy alone to INR 67,480 (USD 1,004) for surgery along with<br />chemo-radiotherapy. Specifically, patients undergoing 2-DRT and IMRT alone had to spend INR 31,487 (USD 469) and<br />INR 42,405 (USD 631) respectively. The prevalence of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) and distress financing<br />(DF) was 34% and 45% respectively. The odds of incurring both CHE and DF were found to be higher for patients in<br />the lowest income quartile and for those in the younger age groups. Conclusion: Cancer imposes significant economic<br />burden on households. The existing public health system should be strengthened to reduce OOP expenditure incurred<br />by patients. In addition, enhanced coverage of risk pooling mechanisms should be ensured. https://journal.waocp.org/article_82400_f8bef78c161c40c78f6ef4838a6ee2ec.pdf