Thanks to a rising number of new meds and technologies, the price tags for accessing these salves and a growing number of patients, the cost of treating cancer is increasingly becoming unaffordable in many developed countries, according to a report commissioned by The Lancet Oncology journal.
About 12 million people worldwide get cancer every year, and the costs associated with new cases was at least $286 billion in 2009, according to the report, which was compiled by 37 experts. Meanwhile, as the population ages, about 27 million people can be expected to develop cancer by 2030, leading to questions about the value of treatment and the associated benefits. The report found most developed countries spend between 4 percent and 7 percent of healthcare budgets on cancer.
?We are at a crossroads for affordable cancer care, where our choices - or refusal to make choices - will affect the lives of millions of people,? says Richard Sullivan of Britain?s King?s Health Partners Integrated Cancer Center, who presented his report at the European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress in Stockholm, Reuters writes. ?Do we bury our heads in the sand, keep our fingers crossed, and hope that it turns out fine, or do we have difficult debates and make hard choices??
?With an aging global population and an endless conveyor belt of expensive new drugs and technologies and increasing financial pressures, the cost of cancer care in high-income countries is becoming unsustainable,? The Lancet Oncology said in a statement. More than half of the $286 billion in costs was related to treatment, while a quarter was linked to lost productivity.
Michael Baumann, president of the European Cancer Organisation, said there was an ?explosion of new possibilities? in cancer treatment and care. This was exciting for scientists, oncologists and cancer patients, he said, but also made it ?absolutely necessary to think about this cost issue now.
In recent months, several recently approved cancer medicines have generated debate about cost and, sometimes, reimbursement, such as the Provenge prostate cancer vaccine, for which Dendreon charges $93,000 annually. Meanwhile, Seattle Genetics is charging about $108,000 a year for its Adcetris med for combating Hodgkin?s disease and another rare lymphoma. And Bristol-Myers Squibb is charging about $120,000 for a four-course treatment of its Yervoy treatment for melanoma (see here, here and here).
A key issue is the extent to which cancer meds can extend survival, especially in relation to cost. In offering its view, the Lancet Oncology opined that solutions may range from ?re-engineering? the macroeconomic basis of cancer costs to educating policy makers, and improving transparency in the regulatory system.
?A radical shift in cancer policy is also required. Political toleration of unfairness in access to affordable cancer treatment is unacceptable. The cancer profession and industry should take responsibility and not accept a substandard evidence base and an ethos of very small benefit at whatever cost; rather, we need delivery of fair prices and real value from new technologies,? the journal writes (read here).
benjamins pic thx to amagill on flickr
Source: http://www.pharmalot.com/2011/09/the-cost-of-treating-cancer-is-unsustainable/
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