Escalating costs for cancer chemotherapy.
The annual costs of chemotherapeutic agents from 1975 to 1980 were determined, and the impact on a hospital's budget of new chemotherapeutic agents marketed during this period was evaluated. Pharmacy purchasing records for the antineoplastics were reviewed retrospectively to determine fiscal year (FY) costs. Statistics from the Consumer Price Index report and hospital patient load were used to project an adjusted annual cost for cancer chemotherapy. The annual expenditures for seven agents marketed in the past five years were expressed as a percentage of the pharmacy's budget. In addition, the oncology clinic records for the past four years were reviewed to assess trends in the number of visits and quantity of drugs prescribed. Analysis indicated that the costs of antineoplastic drugs have risen from $10,156 for FY 1973-1974 to $296,914 for FY 1979-1980. Antineoplastic drug costs have risen from 5.74 to 16.74% of the total drug budget during the same period. Only a portion of the increase in costs could be attributed to increased patient load and inflation. The percentage of patients receiving chemotherapy has reached a plateau, and the quantity of agents being prescribed was not found to be increasing. It was concluded that the rise in cost tends to follow the recent commercial availability of several new antineoplastics, especially doxorubicin. Cancer drug costs will continue to represent a large portion of the total hospital budget in the future and budgets must be planned accordingly.
D000553:Ambulatory Care; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents