Background: Third leading cause of mortality in the world is cancer, with more than ۱۲ million new cases and nearly ۷.۶ million deaths in ۲۰۰۷. The time estimation of healthcare costs of patients with
cancer is an important component in developing national programs and policies of cancer. The present study aimed to investigate the epidemiology and costs of hospitalization of patients with
cancer who were admitted to a regional referral center of the eastern Iran. Methods: The present research was descriptive and had a cross-sectional and population-based design. It was conducted on all patients with
cancer in a regional referral center in eastern Iran in ۲۰۱۸. The files of hospitalized
cancer patients with disease codes of C۰ to D۴۸/۹ and all patients who were admitted to the center for the treatment of
cancer in ۲۰۱۸ and those who were discharged, were extracted and classified based on international codes of ICD۱۰. Costs of the present study consisted of four categories including direct costs of
cancer patients, direct costs of admission due to the cancer, direct outpatient costs, and indirect costs. Statistical data analysis was done by using criteria such as frequency, mean, and standard deviation through STATA Version ۱۱. Results: During the study, ۱۴۶۷
cancer patients were referred to Omid Hospital of Mashhad. Among them, ۴۹.۹% were males and ۵۰.۱% were females. ۱۸۳ patients were in age range of ۵۶-۶۰ years. The highest prevalence and hospitalization were related to
cancer of gastrointestinal organs (۳۶%), and the highest hospital cost belonged to cancers involving bone, cartilage and joints (۵۱.۸۵۵ USD). The total cost of treating
cancer patients was ۱۰۷۴۹۹۰ USD and the average cost of
cancer patients was ۷۳۲۷۸ USD per patient. Hoteling with a portion of ۲۸% comprised the highest cost. The patients’ share of out of pocket payment for treatment cost was ۷% and the governmental share was ۶%. The highest cost of treatment for
cancer patients was paid by insurance companies (۸۷%). Discussion: The research results indicated that
cancer patients bore high direct and indirect costs during their treatment; hence, new policies for reducing costs in these cases are needed. The increasing number of
cancer patients and their treatment costs requires the active participation of all responsible organizations along with continuing financial support by financial institutions such as banks or charities and the development of appropriate government policies on supporting these patients.