ASCO to Help Cancer Docs Evaluate Treatment Value

The American Society of Clinical Oncology's algorithm to help oncologists evaluate the clinical benefits, side effects and costs of a cancer drug or therapy will be fine-tuned over the summer and should be available for public comment by the fall, said Dr. Lowell Schnipper, chair of the society's Value in Cancer Care Task Force.

That was one piece of a larger discussion at ASCO's annual meeting about what needs to be done to get soaring cancer care costs under control. Assessing the value of cancer therapies was a major topic, with sessions looking at issues like whether or not patients are getting what they pay for, the ethical obligations faced by physicians and what if anything can be done to help drive down the costs. Although there have been important advances in cancer therapies over the past few decades, drugmakers are more frequently creating “me-too” drugs—generic versions of previous innovations which often sell at higher prices.

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Source: Modern Healthcare