title: Rising cost of anticancer drugs in Australia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Anticancer drugs are often expensive and are contributing to the growing cost of cancer care. Concerns have been raised about the effect rising costs may have on availability of new anticancer drugs.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to determine the recent changes in the costs of anticancer drugs in Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Publicly available expenditure and prices paid by the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for anticancer drugs from 2000 to 2012 were reviewed. The measures used to determine changes in cost were total PBS expenditure and average price paid by the PBS per prescription for anticancer drugs and for all PBS listed drugs. An estimated monthly price paid for newly listed anticancer drugs was also calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Annual PBS expenditure on anticancer drugs rose from A$65 million in 1999-2000 to A$466 million in 2011-2012; an average increase of 19% per annum. The average price paid by the PBS per anticancer drug prescription, adjusted for inflation, increased 133% from A$337 to A$786. The real average annual increase in the price per anticancer drug prescription was more than double that for all other PBS drugs combined (7.6% vs 2.8%, difference 4.8%, 95% confidence interval -0.4% to 10.1%, P = 0.07). The median price for a month's treatment of the new anticancer drugs listed was A$4919 (range A$1003 to A$12 578, 2012 prices).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PBS expenditure and the price of anticancer drugs in Australia rose substantially from 2000 to 2012. Dealing with these burgeoning costs will be a major challenge for our health system and for those affected by cancer.
authors.affiliation: NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Karikios
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schofield
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Salkeld
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trotman
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Stockler
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000191:economics* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D001315:Australia; D016527:Drug Costs / Q000639:trends*; D004363:Drug Utilization; D006801:Humans; D007250:Inflation, Economic; D007356:Insurance, Pharmaceutical Services / Q000191:economics*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: cancer; drug cost; healthcare cost; pharmaceutical benefit scheme