Temporal trend in hospitalizations for malignant neoplasm and benign neoplasm: a nationwide study, China, 2004–2020

The increasing cancer burden calls for reliably assessed changes in the hospitalizations for tumors over time and space in China. This study evaluated trends in hospitalization rate, in-hospital mortality, length of stay (LOS), and medical costs for malignant and benign neoplasms. Data were derived from China Health Statistical Yearbooks from 2004 to 2020. Temporal trends in hospitalization rates and in-hospital mortality rates were assessed through the Cochran-Armitage Test. We used the linear model with continuous variables to test for the trend. The malignant neoplasm hospitalization rate increased from 1.1‰ to 5.8‰ and the benign neoplasm increased from 1.0‰ to 2.0‰. The in-hospital mortality rate due to malignant neoplasm and benign neoplasm decreased from 5.11 to 2.87% (P for trend < 0.001) and 0.14–0.01% (P for trend < 0.001), respectively. Among all patients hospitalized with malignant neoplasm, the average cost per hospitalization significantly increased during the study period (P for trend < 0.001), adjusted for the Consumer Price Index. However, the average LOS gradually decreased (P for trend < 0.001). In line with the trend of malignant neoplasm, the average cost per hospitalization increased significantly among all patients hospitalized for benign neoplasm (P for trend < 0.001), and the average LOS showed a steady downward trend (P for trend < 0.001). We found upward trends in hospitalization rates, and medical costs in neoplasms. By contrast, substantial decreases in in-hospital mortality and LOS. The hospitalization rate gap between urban and rural areas is narrowed.