ASCO Physicians Consider Cost-Effectiveness of Expensive Oncology Drugs

The American Society of Clinical Oncology is weighing efficacy, side effects and price using an algorithm to determine the relative value of drugs, focusing first on therapies for advanced cases of lung and prostate cancer and for multiple myeloma, said Richard Schilsky, the group’s chief medical officer. The task force developing the system plans to present it for public comment later this year, he said.

With the price of many cancer regimens reaching $10,000 a month, doctors need to communicate the medical implications of their care and, increasingly, the cost so patients can make the best decisions for themselves and their families, panel members said.

“Cancer is one of the primary reasons families go bankrupt today,” said Gary Lyman, an oncologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and a member of the task force. “Often families are mortgaging their houses to pay for these expensive drugs. We want to make sure families understand both the benefits of what we can do, and the financial impact.”

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Source: Bloomberg