Cost of Oral Cancer: Protocol for a Systematic Review

Abstract Background: Cancer care is among the costliest in the social sphere. Oral cancer (OC) is a chronic disease whose incidence has been growing worldwide. The lack of economic evaluation studies assessing the economic impact of OC, as well as the need to search for evidence of the economic burden of OC motivated this investigation. This study aims to collect evidence on the cost of OC (lip cancer - LC, oral cavity cancer - OCC and oropharyngeal cancer - OPC) worldwide. Methods: A systematic review will be conducted take into consideration any perspective. The primary outcome will be the costs related to oral cancer in patients, reported in monetary units. Specific breakdown of costs will be reported (direct hospital costs, rehabilitation care costs, direct non-healthcare costs, indirect costs and productivity loss, and intangible costs). SCOPUS, WEB OF SCIENCE, COCHRANE and BVS databases will be searched. Original studies on cost of OC that assess its cost based on components as: hospital and/or outpatient, promotion and prevention will be included. It will be excluded types of study such as: editorial, letters, reviews, case reports, case series, clinical trials, studies that address specific analysis, such as cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, cost-benefit, cost-minimization. A systematic meta-narrative synthesis will be presented. Data on quantities of health and social resource consumption, currencies used and whether studies show total or incremental costs will be collected.Discussion: The identification of evidence on the economic burden of LC, OCC and OPC will allow the determination of the contribution share of each sector of society in the total economic burden of oral cancer. Also, this evidence will favour the estimate of the impact that the reduction of the OC burden would have on its associated costs and better guide the choice decision, to optimize the benefits. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO ID number 172471.