OBJECTIVES: To estimate the clinical burden of bladder cancer (BC) to the Brazilian society through the calculation of disability-adjusted life years (DALY).

METHODS: DALY was calculated considering the estimated years of life lost (YLL) and years lived with disability (YLD) related to the disease. YLL was calculated based on the life expectancy presented by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) for each age (Complete Mortality Table for Brazil, 2014) and the mortality data from BC by age group presented (Brazilian Mortality Information System 2014). Age-weighting and a discount rate of 5%, as recommended by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, were used. YLD were calculated by multiplying incidence of BC in 2014 (Brazilian National Institute of Cancer), length of disability and weight of disability, related to disease stages and their respective duration of a conceptual model of BC developed based on literature and specialists’ opinion. Disability weights were based on the Global Burden of Disease Study (2013).

RESULTS: Considering the discount rate and age weighting, in 2014 there was a loss of 27,738 years due to the premature death of patients with bladder cancer, of which 17,701 years corresponded to male patients and 10,037 to female patients. Based on the incidence of 8,940 patients in 2014, the total YLD was of 12,402. Total DALY due to bladder cancer in 2014 was 40,140.

CONCLUSIONS: BC is responsible for a high clinical burden in patients, both due to disability resulting from treatment and from premature mortality. This data can support strategic actions of public health policies aimed at the prevention and early diagnosis of BC, as well as on the decision-making process for choosing preferential treatment.