Evaluating the economic burden of bladder cancer in 32 European countries using a value of a statistical life year framework.

INTRODUCTION: Bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Europe, with an average diagnosis age of 73. Recent therapeutic advances have transformed its management and are likely to increase treatment costs, underscoring the growing need for payer evidence to support value-based decision making. Traditional cost of illness studies emphasize direct healthcare costs and productivity losses, whereas the Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) framework offers a broader economic perspective by incorporating societal willingness to pay for mortality risk reduction. This study estimates the economic burden of bladder cancer mortality in 32 European countries using the Value of a Statistical Life Year (VSLY) methodology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The number of deaths by age due to bladder cancer in 32 countries in Europe (ICD-10 code: C67 Malignant neoplasm of bladder) were obtained from the Eurostat database to estimate Years of Life Lost (YLL). We applied the concept of VSL to estimate the VSLY lost to bladder cancer due to YLL by using life expectancy and median age for each country. The VSLY was multiplied by the YLL for each country and costs were expressed in 2024 euros (€).

RESULTS: In 2024, the VSLY based economic burden of bladder cancer across 32 European countries was estimated at €28.5 billion. Germany, Italy, France, the UK, Spain, Poland, and the Netherlands each incurred over €1 billion, together accounting for over 70% of the total cost. Limiting the analysis to YLL before age 65, the cost decreased to €12.6 billion.

CONCLUSIONS: Bladder cancer mortality generates substantial societal costs across Europe. These findings offer an economic assessment of the impact of bladder cancer, which could help policymakers allocate limited resources among various healthcare priorities.