Direct non-medical costs and influencing factors of patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with targeted therapy: A cross-sectional study in Vietnam

To estimate the direct non-medical costs and related factors for patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with estimated glomerular filtration rate (EGFR) mutations who received first-line targeted therapy, a cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2022 to December 2023.Interviews were conducted with 310 NSCLC patients at the Vietnam National Cancer Hospital in Tan Trieu.The mean total direct non-medical costs for NSCLC patients were VND 832,989 per month, accounting for 3.6% of the mean total costs and 29.6% of the average income of NSCLC patients.The highest proportion of patients incurred expenses for transportation (98.7%), meals (90.0%), and lodging (39.0%).Costs for transportation (VND 591,525, accounting for 71.0%), meals (VND 155,580, accounting for 18.7%), and lodging (VND 85,884, accounting for 10.3%) were reported.Meal and lodging costs increased with the duration of hospital visits (p<0.001).Factors such as residing in rural areas, frequency of caregivers, and