Cancer prevention and treatment have improved in the last years, increasing overall free-disease survival and cost of medical care. Cost-utility analysis provides useful information to evaluate the treatment utility in terms of impact on cancer patients' PROs. This information helps the decision maker to analyze if the benefits from the new treatments worth the additional cost.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between the cost of medical treatment and the QoL of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients treated at Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS).

METHODS: A cost-utility analysis was performed using data from 113 CRC patients attended in a third level public hospital. QoL questionnaire EORTC QLQ-C30 was used to estimate Global QoL. Clinical data, costs of attention, treatment and relapses were obtained from medical charts and the cost for treatment was simulated based on costs reported at Diario Oficial de la Federación and from the IMSS websites. Free-disease survival months were adjusted by Global QoL punctuation, this result was used to estimate the mean cost of free-disease survival months adjusted by QoL to get quality-adjusted life months (QALMs). All costs are expressed in US Dollars. Results are reported in mean (standard deviation).

RESULTS: Were found the following data: Clinical stage (CS) II (41%), rectum tumor localization (70.6%), moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma histologic type (70%). Mean Global QoL score was 77 (±0.19). Mean overall survival was 53.42(±34.32) months, and QALMs was 40.98 (±28.1) months. Total cost of medical treatment was: $2,393,604.25 USD. Mean patient/cost was $21,182.34 USD; mean cost for QALM $ $777.62. The cost for QALM was higher in rectum cancer patients ($784.81 USD) than colon cancer patients ($760.19 USD).

CONCLUSIONS: The treatment of rectum cancer patients has higher cost-utility ratio than the colon cancer patients group.