Trends in Epidemiology and Mortality of Patients with Bladder Cancer in Germany: A Retrospective Study Using German Claims Data
Objective: This research aims to estimate the incidence/prevalence of BC in Germany and to describe trends in mortality in the last eleven years.
Methods: Based on anonymized claims data from 19 German sickness funds with 6.3 million insured persons provided by GWQ ServicePlus AG, patients with at least two outpatient or one inpatient BC diagnosis (ICD-10-GM: C67) were identified as BC cases. BC incidence was defined as newly diagnosed after a 24-month baseline period of continuous insurance and without any BC diagnosis. Cumulative BC incidences were assessed for the years 2012, 2018, and 2023. Point prevalences were calculated for January 1st, 2013, January 1st, 2019, and January 1st, 2024. Incidence and prevalence were extrapolated (age- and gender-standardized) to the overall German population of the respective year. Standardized mortality rates for the years 2012, 2018, and 2023 were evaluated in cross-sectional BC samples (BC prevalent and alive on January 1st of the respective year). The incidence in 2023 was compared with nationwide registry data from 2022 (Centre for Cancer Registry Data (ZfKD) located at Robert Koch Institute (RKI)).
Results: The cumulative incidence in the observed population was 0.040% in 2012 (0.048% standardized to the German population), 0.033% in 2018 (0.36% standardized), and 0.036% in 2023 (0.040% standardized). The point prevalence was 0.191% on January 1st, 2013 (0.236% standardized to the German population), 0.195% on January 1st, 2019 (0.224% standardized), and 0.213% on January 1st, 2024 (0.235% standardized). The mean age of the prevalent populations was decreased from 66.7 to 65.6 years; the proportion of female BC patients also decreased from 26.2% on January 1st, 2013, to 24.3% on January 1st, 2024. The mortality in the population of BC prevalent patients was 6.10% in 2012 (5.640% extrapolated to the German population), 6.70% in 2018 (5.848% extrapolated), and 6.69% in 2023 (5.969% extrapolated).