Chemotherapy for breast cancer costs the UK economy more than £248 million annually, including ‘out-of-pocket’ personal costs of more than £1,000 per patient – according to new research from the University of East Anglia.

Key findings: - The total cost of breast cancer chemotherapy in the UK economy is over £248 million.

- Societal productivity losses of £141.4 million - including £3.2 million lost to premature mortality, and £133.7 million lost to short-term (£28.7 m) and long-term (105m) work absence. Further costs include £3.4m associated with mortality losses from secondary malignancies due to adjuvant chemotherapy and £1.1m in lost productivity arises from informal care provision.

- £1.1 million in lost productivity arises from informal care provision.

- Out-of-pocket patient costs for chemotherapy total £4.2million, or an annual average of £1,100 per patient. In addition, costs for the emotional wellbeing of carers could be as much as £82 million. Emotional wellbeing reflects how much additional income would be required to offset a wellbeing loss.

‘Societal costs of chemotherapy in the UK: an incidence-based cost-of-illness model for early breast cancer’ is published in the journal BMJ Open on January 5, 2021.