The cost and value of cancer drugs – are new innovations outpacing our ability to pay?

Cancer drug expenditures have been increasing significantly in countries around the world. A recent paper in the IJHPR provides new knowledge and insights into this global phenomenon by analyzing how it is playing out in an Israeli health plan with over two million members, whose state-of-the-art information systems provide an opportunity to explore these changes in a comprehensive, detailed and reliable manner. There is a wide variation in both the cost-effectiveness and the budget impact of individual drugs. These issues also vary when analyzing drugs in other countries due to differential pricing mechanisms. In addition to drug expenditure, the overall cost of cancer care is increasing, partly due to expenditures on non-pharmacologic treatments and diagnostic testing. With the arrival of new therapies, the future of cancer care is exciting. However, there will be many challenges ahead with regard to the ability to pay for such innovations. In this commentary we discuss the current problems and anticipate the future challenges.