Cancer becoming too expensive to treat?

Cancer is becoming too expensive to treat, according to a report in the medical journal, Lancet Oncology. New technologies as well as the rapid rise in cases around the world are to blame. 

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The study focuses on cancer treatment in the developed world. It cites ballooning costs and calls for a change in thinking in how the disease is approached. Tricky questions must be addressed, such as a patient's request for a new drug or plan of care that will only prolong life by a matter of months that must be weighed against its potential cost. 

The report said, "The cancer community needs to take responsibility and not accept a sub-standard evidence base and an ethos of very small benefit at whatever cost. There should be fair prices and real value from new technologies."

In plain English, doctors cannot afford to provide the most expensive care to patients whose hope of recovery is nonexistent and still providing adequate care to other patients. 

The number of cancer cases worldwide is growing. Approximately 12 million people are diagnosed each year and the number is forecast to rise to 27 million by 2030. 

The present cost of treating cancer in the developed world is estimated at $286 billion per year, with half of that amount being the medical costs and a quarter of that figure equaling the productivity losses from the disease. The report calls on healthcare providers and policymakers to work together to find ways to keep costs down. 

But with the number of annual cases on the rise, that may be a very difficult thing to do. Experts say tough choices will have to be made. 

The report found that a number of factors influences cancer treatment costs. Age, demand for health care, and increasingly expensive and targeted drugs are responsible for much of the rising costs. Some new drugs are expected to cost tens of thousands of dollars per patient. 

The report specifically examined the Dendreon's Provenge prostate cancer treatment which costs more than $100,000 for a three-month course of treatment and can improve survival by a matter of months. The report asked, "How should we determine its value?" 

The question is a powerful one. It is a difficult question to answer. In a world of limited resources, what is the value of a life?

 What do you think? In a world of limited resources, how should doctors approach this conundrum? Share your comments below.

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