[Prostate cancer: medicoeconomic aspects].

Prostate cancer is the first cancer in men. Its incidence is constantly increasing. The significant evolution of diagnostic and therapeutic means during the two last decades contrasts with the scarcity of medicoeconomic studies. The aim of this review is to present a synthesis of the different studies published and to respond to questions about the economic aspects of this disease, with the evaluation of its direct and indirect costs. The cost-effectiveness and the benefits of the prevention and the screening are still being studied. The costs of the surgery and the radiotherapy are roughly similar. The new surgical techniques, especially the laparoscopic and the robotic surgeries, are not necessarily associated with higher costs, in condition of a high-volume laparoscopic surgery program and a faster discharge. The indirect costs of prostate cancer concern the loss of economic production associated with the disease and death and are more difficult to determine.