Washington DC, US

Cancer is a leading cause of death in the US, and now a study has estimated that  Americans are spending more than $40 billion for screenings.

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The modelling study by the American College of Physicians examined the screening data for five common types of cancer - breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate - for the year 2021 to reach their conclusion.  

The details, they hope, would help policy change, including equal access to cancer screenings and treatment, the college said in a release.

How the study was done

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For the study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the National Institutes of Health researchers used healthcare survey and cost resources data to estimate the annual cost of initial cancer screening. This does not include follow-up costs.

The amount was estimated by multiplying the number of those screened for the five types of cancers and their costs by typical insurance cover per screen in 2021 dollars, the college said. 

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Their estimate of screening costs was $43 billion per year.

Out of this, screening for colorectal cancer stood the highest cost, at 64%.

"About 88.3% of costs were attributable to private insurance, 8.5% to Medicare, and 3.2% to Medicaid and other programmes," said a release from the college. 

Cancer screenings can cut mortality rates as well as reduce the overall cost of treatment if detection is done at the early stages.

"Cancer screenings increase detection of earlier stage disease, which may result in decreased treatment costs, decreased financial hardship, and improved quality of life," said the release.

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Even the $43bn estimate may be less than the actual cost, as patients usually go for further testing. Screening of ineligble patients and overdiagnosis, and overtreatment are also not factored in, the college said in an accompanying editorial on the study. 

"Data suggests that screening of ineligible patients is particularly common, especially among elderly people," it noted. 

(With inputs from agencies)