Faced With Escalating Drug Prices, Oncologists Develop Formula For Weighing Value Of Cancer Care
A rush of new cancer medications are available, but some carry high costs while not offering much more time. The formula published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology aims to help doctors and patients assess factors such as benefits, side effects and cost when deciding between treatment options.
The Associated Press:
Doctors Propose Tool To Help Gauge Value Of Cancer Drugs
The pushback against soaring cancer drug prices is gaining steam. A leading doctors group on Monday proposed a formula to help patients decide if a medicine is worth it — what it will cost them and how much good it is likely to do. The move by the American Society of Clinical Oncology is the third recent effort to focus on value in cancer care. Two weeks ago, the European Society for Medical Oncology proposed a similar guide. Last week, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York posted an online tool suggesting a drug's fair price, based on benefits and side effects. (6/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
New Formula Aims To Help Weigh Value Of Cancer Treatments
A leading oncology group has developed a formula designed to help doctors and patients weigh the value of cancer treatments, in the latest example of rising concern over the price of new drugs. The American Society of Clinical Oncology published Monday a template for assessing new treatments based on the benefits and side effects seen in clinical trials and on the cost for individual patients. The formula is an initial step toward producing software-based tools that doctors and patients can use in deciding among treatment options for the disease, ASCO said. (Winslow, 6/22)
Los Angeles Times:
Cancer Drugs Get A New Consumer's Guide
In a bid to inject clarity into the fast-moving, high-stakes world of cancer drugs, a task force of cancer doctors announced Monday that it has devised a decision-making aid to help physicians and their patients weigh the pluses and minuses of newly available options for treating malignancy, including their costs. In a trial run of the proposed system, which distills a single "net health benefit" number for cancer drugs, several costly new medications fared poorly. Others, despite high costs, appeared to offer major returns for patients with few effective options. (Healy, 6/22)
