Abstract / Summary
Abstract Background Stomach cancer (SC), the third leading cause of cancer-related death in China, poses a considerable challenge to the Chinese healthcare system. Evidence on inpatient medical costs and cost composition among patients with SC who underwent surgery in China remains limited. Using hospitalization billing data from Ningbo, China, this study estimates the total medical costs and cost composition of SC to gain insights into the economic burden due to SC in China. Methods A hospital-based retrospective observational study was conducted using data from a tertiary hospital in Ningbo, China. SC-related medical expenditure and the sociodemographic and clinicopathologic characteristics of inpatients were obtained from the hospital billing system and inpatient medical records. Patients aged ≥ 18 years, with a primarily diagnosis of SC who underwent surgery between 2020 and 2023 were included in the study. The proportional breakdown of SC medical expenditure was analyzed by separating the expenditure into five major categories: materials, medications, surgery, examinations, and hospital services. All expenditure data were converted to 2020 Chinese Yuan. Results A total of 1,102 inpatients were included, where 69.51% were male, 69.06% were at stages I and II, and 58.89% had tumors in the lower part of the stomach. Inpatient medical costs were generally higher among older patients and patients with more advanced tumor stage. Materials, medications, and examinations were the major cost drivers of SC medical costs, jointly accounting for 73–74% of total costs across tumor sites. Conclusions Medical costs among SC inpatients were substantial and varied across patients’ sociodemographic and clinicopathological characteristics, particularly by age, tumor stage, and tumor site. These findings provide contemporary cost estimates that may inform hospital budgeting, procurement of medical materials and medications, and the refinement of reimbursement arrangements for SC hospitalization. They may also provide insights for future economic evaluations of SC prevention and treatment strategies.