title: Rising Cost of Cancer Pharmaceuticals: Cost Issues and Interventions to Control Costs.
abstract: The rising cost of pharmaceuticals and, in particular, cancer drugs has made headline news in recent years. Several factors contribute to increasing costs and the burden this places on the health care system and patients. Some of these factors include costly cancer pharmaceutical research and development, longer clinical trials required to achieve drug approval, manufacturing costs for complex compounds, and the economic principles surrounding oncology drug pricing. Strategies to control costs have been proposed, and some have already been implemented to mitigate cancer drug costs such as the use of clinical treatment pathways and tools to facilitate cost discussions with patients. In this article, we briefly review some of the potential factors contributing to increasing cancer pharmaceutical costs and interventions to mitigate costs, and touch on the role of health care providers in addressing this important issue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aurora, Colorado.
authors.forename: Ashley E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Glode
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Baptist Health Lexington, Lexington, Kentucky.
authors.forename: Megan Brafford
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: May
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000191:economics*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003363:Cost Control; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D019091:Critical Pathways; D016527:Drug Costs; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: ASCO value framework; NCCN evidence blocks; cancer; clinical pathways; cost; financial toxicity; medications; oncology; oncology pharmacist; pharmaceuticals