OBJECTIVES: To examine the utilization of antineoplastic drugs and hospitalization costs in Chinese patients with lung cancer, as well as the factors that influence the costs.

METHODS: Electronic medical record data from a tertiary hospital in Guangzhou, China, were collected retrospectively. Patients diagnosed with lung cancer were identified for discharge date from January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. Using descriptive statistics, the clinical characteristics, utilization of antineoplastic drugs, and hospitalization costs were examined. Additionally, the generalized linear model (GLM) was used to investigate the cost-influencing factors with statistical differences.

RESULTS: A total of 2,614 patients (male: 71.16%; female: 28.84%) with an average age of 58.99 were identified, 24.41% of whom were complicated by cardio-cerebrovascular disorders. The predominant subtype was lung adenocarcinoma (59.56%). Palliative chemotherapy (49.31%) was the main diagnosis for patients. Chemotherapy alone was the most common prescription among inpatients (76.47%), followed by immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy (10.75%), targeted therapy alone (8.03%), immunotherapy alone (3.25%), and targeted therapy combined with chemotherapy (1.49%). Sintilimab (46.45%) and Camrelizumab (31.69%) were commonly prescribed in immunotherapy. The average hospitalization cost of all patients was 13,979.73 CNY, 68.66% of which was drug costs. The hospitalization costs of patients who combined immunotherapy with chemotherapy were highest (29,143.66 CNY) compared with targeted therapy combined with chemotherapy (19,451.50 CNY), immunotherapy alone (16,783.06 CNY), targeted therapy alone (15,837.22 CNY) and chemotherapy alone (11,427.04 CNY). The GLM results indicated that, patients who received immunotherapy, had longer hospital stays, had lung adenocarcinoma, and complicated with hypertension, cardio-cerebrovascular disease or diabetes statistically increased the overall cost (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Lung cancer in China causes an economic burden on both individuals and society. To guide the fine allocation of medical resources and reduce the burden, the utilization of antineoplastic medication, length of stay, pathological subtype, and specific complications should be taken into account.