Abstract
Global burden and economic impact of vaccine-preventable cancer mortality.
Author
person
Goran Bencina
Center for Observational and Real-World Evidence, MSD Spain, Madrid, Spain
info_outline
Goran Bencina, Edward Oliver, Anne Meiwald, Robert Hughes, Edith Morais, Julia A Schillinger, Georgie Weston
Full text
Authors
person
Goran Bencina
Center for Observational and Real-World Evidence, MSD Spain, Madrid, Spain
info_outline
Goran Bencina, Edward Oliver, Anne Meiwald, Robert Hughes, Edith Morais, Julia A Schillinger, Georgie Weston
Organizations
Center for Observational and Real-World Evidence, MSD Spain, Madrid, Spain, Adelphi Values, Bollington, United Kingdom, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Lyon, France, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ
Abstract Disclosures
Research Funding
Pharmaceutical/Biotech Company
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.
Background:
Cancer has a high clinical and economic burden, with ~10 million deaths globally in 2020. In Europe, the total cost of cancer was €199 billion in 2018. Infections are responsible for approximately 13% of cancer cases worldwide. Human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B (HBV) are among the most important infections associated with cancer for which vaccines are available. However, global vaccination rates for these cancer-causing infections remain low (~12% for HPV; 42% for HBV). Elimination of vaccine-preventable cancers is a public health priority, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed a strategy to eliminate cervical cancer and viral hepatitis by 2030. This analysis aims to estimate the global burden and economic impact due to vaccine-preventable cancer mortality.
Methods:
The number of deaths and Years of Life Lost (YLL) in 2019 from liver cancer caused by hepatitis B (ICD-10 C22), head and neck cancers (ICD-10 C00-14 and C32), and cancer of the cervix uteri (ICD-10 C53) were sourced from the Institute for Health Metrics Evaluation (IHME) Global Burden of Disease. Deaths and YLL were applied to attributable fractions for each vaccine-preventable cancer based on published data. The Value of YLL (VYLL) was estimated by multiplying the GDP per capita (World Bank; in USD) and YLL for each cancer, in each WHO region. Sensitivity and scenario analyses were performed to test the robustness of results.
Results:
In 2019, there were 479,750 potentially vaccine-preventable cancer deaths and 14,561,049 YLL (38% in males) across WHO regions (Table). The estimated economic impact due to vaccine-preventable cancer deaths was over $171 billion globally with the Americas and European region accounting for 63% of the total cost ($107 billion). Cervical cancer had the highest mortality burden (52% of total deaths). Globally, 78% of non-cervical HPV-related cancer deaths were in males.
Conclusions:
In 2019, 1,314 people died per day due to vaccine-preventable cancers leading to substantial YLL and economic impact. The overall burden is likely to be higher since several other HPV-related cancers were not included in this analysis. Improved implementation of HPV and HBV vaccination programs should be prioritized to decrease this burden.
Deaths, YLL and VYLL due to vaccine-preventable cancers.
Region
Deaths (total)
Deaths (% Male/% Female)
YLL (total)
YLL (% Male/% Female)
VYLL ($)
African
56,777
11/89
1,948,911
11/89
6,781,797,190
Eastern Mediterranean
16,466
36/64
548,777
34/66
8,977,158,196
European
51,816
34/66
1,377,083
34/66
53,957,605,778
The Americas
51,150
14/86
1,492,493
13/87
53,659,526,030
South-East Asia
101,136
30/70
3,197,870
29/71
36,719,638,991
Western Pacific
202,406
58/42
5,995,916
60/40
11,768,800,297
Global*
479,750
39/61
14,561,049
38/62
171,864,526,482
*Sum of all WHO regions.
5 organizations
2 drugs
2 targets
Organization
Center for Observational and Real-World EvidenceOrganization
MSD SpainOrganization
Adelphi ValuesOrganization
Merck Sharp & DohmeOrganization
Merck & Co., Inc.Target
HPV16 E6Target
hepatitis B virus