The total hospital and community UK costs of managing patients with relapsed breast cancer

The complete hospital and community records of 77 women were randomly selected from 232 women who had relapsed breast cancer between 2000 and 2005. Scrutiny of all management activities revealed a total cost of £1 939 329 (mean per patient of £25 186, 95% CI £13 705–£33 821). The median survival from time of relapse was 40.07 months and the median total cost per patient was £31 402.62. Including the community cost of a relapse provides a more realistic figure for future cost-effectiveness analysis of adjuvant breast cancer therapies.