In recent days, there has been a lot of talk about tumors, especially because of some recently published studies and some statements made by various experts on the subject, during the summer and holidays, a time when people tend to pay less attention to a balanced diet and physical exercise and let themselves go a little more, even with alcohol and smoking. But it is also being talked about because future forecasts indicate that there will undoubtedly be a significant increase in oncological pathologies, both in Italy and in the rest of the world, and that they will also affect younger people.
But how much does it cost to treat a tumor in Italy? Who pays? What is covered by the National Health Service and what is excluded?
How many cancer patients are there in Italy: increased risk for men
The data is clear: In Italy today there are over 3 million 700 thousand cancer patients and the risk of cancer will increase more and more in the coming years.
According to a new study published in the journal Cancer conducted by scientists at the University of Queensland, Australia, there will be in the world, in the next 25 yearsin particular a increase in cases of neoplasms among men. Males, experts explain, are generally associated with higher rates of onset and mortality than females, due to a series of factors, including the lack of prevention, including screening and regular check-ups, but also due to different physical characteristics.
The 17 types of cancer for which those aged 30 to 60 are most at risk
A study published a few days ago in The Lancet Public Health, conducted by scientists from the American Cancer Society, also revealed that the incidence of various forms of cancer has increased significantly in younger generations. In particular, the Generation X, that is, those born between 1965 and 1980hey Millennials, that is, those born between 1981 and 1994they seem to run a higher risk for as many as 17 types of cancer. Scientists still don’t know why, though.
The analysis is based on incidence data collected from more than 23.6 million patients diagnosed with 34 types of cancer and mortality data from more than 7.3 million deaths from 25 cancers, for people aged 25 to 84 years from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2019. Information obtained from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries and the National Center for Health Statistics, respectively.
The authors observed that, in the birth cohorts that followed each other every 5 years starting in 1920, the incidence rates progressively increased for 8 of the 34 cancer types. In particular, they were approximately double or triple in the 1990 birth cohort compared to the 1955 cohort for tumors of the pancreas, kidney and small intestineboth among males and females.
Furthermore, incidence rates increased in younger groups, after a decline in older groups, for 9 of the remaining cancers including breast cancerThe uterine cancerto the colon-rectumat the stomachat the gallbladderand then again ovarianto the testicles, anal in males and the Kaposi’s sarcoma always in men. The increase in the incidence rate of the various neoplasms, in the 1990 birth group compared to the cohort with the lowest incidence rate, varied from +12% for ovarian cancer to +169% for uterine cancer.
40% of cancers are preventable
The good news in this scenario is that it is possible to avoid cancer through healthy lifestyles. As explained Aiom Foundationwhich has just launched the new campaign “Tumors, choose prevention” (with an exceptional testimonial, the famous coach Massimiliano Allegri), in oncology the innovation of therapies is leading to an increase in the number of people who are able to live with a tumor.
The clear message to get across, studies confirm, is that adopting certain habits can significantly reduce the risk of developing many serious diseases.
It is estimated that well 40% of all cancer cases are preventable. And this also applies to those who have already faced the experience of cancer: these people too can derive significant benefits by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This not only helps prevent the recurrence of the disease, but also promotes a positive response to therapies and improves the quality of life post-treatment.
Not only that. The reversal of the trend in cancer mortality is also determined by thescientific innovation and technologyapplied to research (recently, “spy” proteins were discovered that can detect a tumor 7 years earlier) and to all treatments, from surgery to radiotherapy to pharmacological therapies. Oncology in Italy is making continuous progress with thousands of lives saved: in the last twenty years, significant progress in patient care has led to lower mortality. Experts have calculated that in 13 years, from 2007 to 2019, over 268 thousand cancer deaths were avoided.
The most common cancer in our country is breast cancer, with over 55 thousand new cases per year. But today The 5-year survival rate is 88% thanks to the significant increase in early diagnoses and more effective treatments. Even for the most serious forms of the disease, such as metastatic carcinoma, Aiom emphasizes, innovative drugs have been developed, such as drug-conjugated monoclonal antibodies.
How to Prevent Cancer: 8 Golden Rules
Most of all, the prevention can save lives. Even if in this sense the Italian data is still too weak. In our country the percentage of Screening Adherence it’s very low, between 30 and 40%and has further decreased compared to 2021. For theEuropean Union should be the 90% by 2025.
Primary prevention – clarifies Aiom – consists in identifying the risk factors that can generate the development of the disease. This is about habits that would be good to follow from a very young age. Here they are:
- no to smoking
- moderate alcohol consumption
- follow the Mediterranean diet
- check your weight
- practice physical activity
- no to sun lamps and pay attention to moles and nodules
- protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases
- no to the use of doping substances.
There secondary prevention It can instead identify precancerous lesions or the tumor at a very early stage, so as to treat it more effectively and consequently obtain a greater number of recoveries and a reduction in the mortality rate.
But there is also a tertiary prevention: try to avoid relapses of the disease or even possible metastases, after the tumor has been treated. The symptoms of the tumor, the complications caused by the therapy and the rehabilitation of the patient can also be favored thanks to these good practices.
How much does it cost to treat a tumor in Italy?
But how much does it cost to treat a tumor in Italy? Who pays? A question that thousands of people find themselves having to ask. Let’s start by clarifying that in Italy The National Health System covers most of the costs of treatmentincluding very expensive anti-cancer drugs. In 2022, 20 billion euros were spent in Italy to treat cancer patients, including direct costs of therapies, hospitalizations, surgical interventions, tests, rehabilitation and indirect costs.
However, an increasingly significant portion of expenses ends up being borne by patients. According to data published in the second edition of the survey “The social costs of cancer: evaluation of the social and economic impact on patients and caregivers” promoted by the Italian Federation of Volunteer Associations in Oncology (Favo) and carried out by Datamining, in collaboration with the Italian Association of Cancer Patients, Relatives and Friends (Aimac), the National Cancer Institute of Milan and the one in Naples (Fondazione Pascale), each patient in Italy spends 1,841 euros per year for cancer treatment. In many cases in other cities, hundreds of miles from home.
The money is needed for diagnostic tests, specialist visits, life-saving therapies, but also “extra” treatments, so to speak, such as psychological and nutritional support, which are essential to fight cancer, improve the quality of life of patients and increase survival rates. All expenses that contribute to eroding family income. A cancer diagnosis can cause economic difficulties for the patient and the family: this is the so-called financial toxicitywhich affects 26% of people, that is, 1 in 4 sufferers.
The item that has the greatest impact on the expenses directly borne by patients is that relating to diagnostic tests, then there is the cost of transportation, specialist visits following the diagnosis, the purchase of non-oncological drugs and the costs of accommodation away from one’s residence.
Health care costs: all the figures
How much they cost all these treatments? Here is a summary, taken from the study conducted on 1,289 patients, of which 464 were men and 825 were women:
- diagnostic tests: 259.82 euros (51.4% of total expenditure)
- transport: 359.34 (45.1% of total expenditure)
- Post-diagnosis specialist visits: 126.12 euros (28.9% of total expenditure)
- non-oncological drugs: 124.26 euros (28.5% of total expenditure)
- accommodation: 226.78 euros (26.7% of total expenditure)
- reconstructive surgery: 149.62 euros (3.3% of total expenditure)
- nutritional consultancy: 82.36 euros (18.7% of total expenditure)
- prosthetics/wigs: 122.2 euros (18.2% of total expenditure)
- home care: 6.1% euros (84.27 of total expenditure).
In addition to the direct costs, there are also indirect costs due to loss of production capacity of those who get sick. According to the latest Reports on the care conditions of cancer patients produced by Favo, the Italian Federation of Volunteer Associations in Oncology, the disease has led to a decline in work performance for 1 in 3 patients and 45% declare that they have not been able to maintain previous income levels. Women are doubly disadvantaged compared to men in terms of days of work or study lost; workers over 55 and self-employed workers are also more affected.
