The cost of breast cancer to the UK economy could reach £3.6bn a year by 2034, according to a new report.
This year, the total cost of breast cancer to the UK economy is estimated to be £2.6bn–£2.8bn, or about 0.1% of UK gross output, economic modelling in the study shows. That could rise by almost 40% if no action is taken to improve screening rates and cut advanced cancer cases, the study from the thinktank Demos and the charity Breast Cancer Now suggests.
Baroness Delyth Morgan, the chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, said: “These revealing, first-of-their-kind estimates of the economic and wellbeing costs of breast cancer in the UK show that breast cancer is far from being a ‘done deal’, and the consequences of us failing to act now are dire.”
Figures cited in the study represent costs to the NHS in terms of diagnosis and treatment, the cost to society in terms of productivity loss, relating both to the patient and carers, and the individual costs that people carry, such as out-of-pocket expenses and loss of income.
The figures for 2024 include £727m spent on NHS treatment and screening, plus patient productivity loss of £1.8bn.
In 2019, there were 56,343 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed, the report said, but by 2034, this is expected to have risen to 64,708 cases.
Researchers also looked at the “true human cost of breast cancer”. Wellbeing costs associated with breast cancer, including expenses incurred through reduced quality of life and early death and the impact on carers, partners and children, are estimated to amount to £17.5bn in 2024.
Morgan added: “While progress has been made across diagnosis, treatment and care, people diagnosed with breast cancer and their loved ones share with us daily the challenges of living with the disease and how their wellbeing and quality of life have deteriorated.
“While 98% of women diagnosed at stage 1 survive for five years or more, we cannot afford to be complacent about breast cancer – it’s the most common cancer in the world, and cases are rising.
“In the UK alone, each year there are about 55,000 new cases and breast cancer causes over 11,000 deaths.”
The report said that increasing breast cancer screening rates, training more cancer nurse specialists and providing better support for people returning to work would have the greatest impact on cutting costs.
An NHS England spokesperson said: “This report is right to recognise the considerable progress made in improving breast cancer survival rates since the 1990s.
“We are working hard to improve diagnosis and survival rates, with 1,100 more early-stage breast cancer patients diagnosed a year than before the pandemic.”
