Indirect costs in patients with breast cancer: protocol for a systematic review

Abstract Background:The rising incidence of breast cancer places a financial burden on national health services and economies. The cost of breast cancer studies is constantly increasing; however, this cost is calculated based on the currency of the country in which the study takes place, therefore limiting national and international comparisons. On the other hand, there is no common method used to conduct such studies. The objective of this review is to contribute to this knowledge pool by examining the indirect costs of breast cancer in order to provide comparable estimates.Methods and analysis:This review will consider all relevant cost of illness studies dated from the year 2000 until the year 2018. Relevant papers will be identified through a systematic search in all major medical research databases. Two independent researchers will screen selected articles. Methodological quality of the studies will be assessed using a checklist designed by Stunhldreher et al. Discussion:The results will be presented in line with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis) checklist. While the costs of breast cancer studies are helpful in planning health interventions in terms of the severity of the problem and budget priorities, the results could also be of great help to policymakers and decision makers in health systems.Study registration number: PROSPERO CRD42018108392