Changing patterns of hospital admission for primary gynaecological cancer in Australia 1998 to 2015

Background: Gynaecological cancers account for more than 16% of all cancers in women. Evolving population demographics and patterns of incidence, mortality and survivorship make planning of cancer services challenging. There is a paucity of economic studies to inform this planning. To inform planning we sought to move beyond incidence estimates and take a utilisation approach by examining trends in hospital admission for gynaecological cancer Methods: Data were obtained from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and Australian Cancer Database (ACD) for admission for primary gynaecological malignancy between 1998 to 2015 (inclusive). Population estimates for each year of the study were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Regressions were performed to calculate R- and p-values. Results: There were significant increases in admission for endometrial cancer in all groups apart from the 45-54 year group. There was a significant fall in hospital admission for ovarian cancer across all age groups. For cervical cancer there was no change in the rate of hospital admission in the 25-44 year age group, but significant falls in all other age groups. For all other primary gynaecological cancers there was no change in rates of hospital admission over the study period. Conclusion: The most expensive single component of a cancer patients care remains inpatient care. This study provides national data for inpatient admission for Gynaecological cancer in Australia. With the burden of cancer increasing, this, in conjunction with demographic projections, may provide a useful adjunct method to assist planning of cancer care resources.