Impact of Cancer Deaths on Years of Life and Productivity Losses in Japan in 2019

OBJECTIVES: The number of cancer-related deaths has increased in Japan over time, and there were 376,425 deaths reported only in 2019. We aimed to estimate the burden of cancer-related deaths in Japan in terms of life years lost and productivity losses.

METHODS: Following a human capital approach, we estimated the years of life lost due to premature mortality (YLL), years of productive life lost (YPLL) and the present value of future loss of productivity (PVFLP) associated with cancer deaths in Japan. The YPLL were estimated as the years before retirement age that the person would have lived had the person not died prematurely, while PVFLP valued the YPLL according to the average salary per year in Japan. Age and sex-specific cancer-related-mortality data were obtained from Cancer Statistics in Japan. A retirement age of 65 years was assumed for both men and women. Average wages were sourced from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Japan.

RESULTS: In 2019 a total of 2,203,077 years of life were lost due to cancer-related deaths (YLL), with 454,762 of these (21%) being YPLL. Lung, stomach and colorectal cancers had the highest number of associated deaths and YLL, while colorectal, breast and lung had the highest number of YPLL. The total lost productivity costs due to premature cancer-related mortality was estimated to be ¥ 1.32 trillions. The average cost of lost productivity per premature cancer death was ¥3.51 millions across all tumors.

CONCLUSIONS: The number of cancer deaths in Japan in 2019 resulted in a substantial burden, as reflected by the high number of YLL, YPLL and PVFLP. There is a need to increase the efforts in cancer care, including prevention, early detection and optimal treatment, to reduce the number of cancer-related deaths and the impact that these have in YLL, YPLL and PVFLP.