Study on the Trend of Cervical Cancer Inpatient Costs and Its Influencing Factors in Economically Underdeveloped Areas of China, 2019–2023: An Analysis in Gansu Province

Background: Comprehensive data on the economic burden of cervical cancer treatment remain scarce in China’s less developed regions, necessitating this study on hospitalization costs and expenditure trends in these areas. Methods: Employing a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling approach, this study enrolled 10,070 cervical cancer inpatients from 72 healthcare facilities in Gansu Province. Clinical and expenditure data were extracted from hospital information systems. Rank sum tests and Spearman correlation analyses were performed for univariate assessment, while quantile regression and random forest models were applied to identify determinant factors. Results: From 2019 to 2023, the average hospitalization duration for cervical cancer patients in Gansu Province was 16.12 days, with an average hospitalization cost of USD 3862.08 (2023 constant prices, converted from CNY at 1:7.0467). During these five years, the average inpatient costs per hospitalization increased from USD 3473.45 to USD 4202.57, and the average daily hospitalization cost rose from USD 230.53 to USD 241.77. The average drug cost decreased from USD 769.06 to USD 640.16. The main factors influencing hospitalization costs included the length of hospital stay, whether cervical cancer surgery was performed, hospital type, hospital level, and the proportion of medications. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that cervical cancer is a considerable economic burden on both families and society. This highlights the need to control the length of hospital stay and optimize the allocation of medical resources, in addition to strengthening cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination in underdeveloped areas, in order to enhance the efficiency of prevention and treatment and ensure medical equity.