Cost Analysis of AC Treatment Compared to TAC in Breast Cancer patients at the Regional General Hospital of West Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia

Breast cancer is a disease that requires high treatment costs. The incidence of breast cancer continues to increase every year, especially in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. This study aims to determine the cost comparison in breast cancer patients using the Doxorubicin Cyclophosphamide (AC) regimen compared to the Paclitaxel Doxorubicin Cyclophosphamide (TAC) regimen at the Regional General Hospital of West Nusa Tenggara Province. The research design uses a retrospective analysis design for the year 2022, comparing the direct medical costs from secondary data of breast cancer patients using chemotherapy regimens AC compared to TAC from the payer’s perspective. The sample size is 225 patients using a purposive sampling technique. The results of the study found that the majority of breast cancer patients are in the early elderly category, all breast cancer patients are female, the majority of breast cancer patients had a length of stay of 1-5 days, and the majority of breast cancer patients were discharged alive. The average direct medical costs in breast cancer patients using the AC chemotherapy regimen were Rp. 3,391,015 per patient, while in patients using the TAC chemotherapy regimen, the average direct medical costs were Rp. 4,128,545 per patient. There is a difference in the average direct medical costs between the AC and TAC chemotherapy regimens, where the average TAC medical costs are higher by Rp 737,529 (17,86%) compared to the AC chemotherapy regimen. Thus, it is concluded that there is a significant difference (P <0.05) in the direct medical costs of breast cancer patients using the AC chemotherapy regimen compared to the TAC chemotherapy regimen.