• [Reuters] Cancer cost becoming unsustainable in rich nations
    4 replies, posted
[quote](Reuters) - An explosion of new technologies and treatments for cancer coupled with a rapid rise in cases of the disease worldwide mean cancer care is rapidly becoming unaffordable in many developed countries, oncology experts said on Monday. [b]With costs ballooning, a radical shift in thinking is needed to ensure fairer access to medicines and address tricky questions like balancing extra months of life for patients against costs of a new drug, technology or care plan[/b], they 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," said a report commissioned by the Lancet Oncology medical journal on the costs of cancer care. "There should be fair prices and real value from new technologies." [b]Some 12 million people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer each year and that number is expected to rise to 27 million by 2030. The cost of new cancer cases is already estimated to be about $286 billion a year, with medical costs making up more than half the economic burden and productivity losses account for nearly a quarter[/b], according to Economist Intelligence United data cited in the report. The report, led by Richard Sullivan of Britain's King's Health Partners Integrated Cancer Center in London, said policy-makers, doctors, patients groups and the health industry should work together to find ways to stem future cost rises. "We are at a crossroads for affordable cancer care, where our choices -- or refusal to make choices -- will affect the lives of millions of people," said Sullivan, who presented his report at the European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress (EMCC) in Stockholm. "Do we bury our heads in the sand, keep our fingers crossed, and hope that it turns out fine, or do we have difficult debates and make hard choices?" Sullivan's team, which brought together 37 experts from wealthy countries, found that cancer costs are driven by many factors, including aging populations and rising demand for healthcare, as well as increasingly sophisticated and expensive targeted cancer drugs. [b]Prices for some of the latest experimental drugs unveiled at the EMCC -- including a highly-sophisticated armed antibody drug from Roche and a so-called alpha-pharmaceutical from Bayer and Algeta -- are likely to reach into the tens of thousands of dollars per patient. The Lancet report pointed to Dendreon's Provenge prostate cancer treatment -- which costs more than $100,000 for a three-dose course and was found in trials to improve survival by several months in patients with few other options.[/b] "How should we determine its value?" the report asked. Michael Baumann, president of the European Cancer Organization, said there was an "explosion of new possibilities" in cancer treatment and care. This was exciting for scientists, oncologists and cancer patients, he said, but also made it "absolutely necessary to think about this cost issue now."[/quote] [i]Article written by Kate Kelland, Reuters.[/i] - [url]http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/26/us-cancer-costs-idUSTRE78P26B20110926[/url] I don't think anyone is surprised by this news, everyone knows that cancer treatment has always been expensive. However, it seems to be spiraling out of control at this point. From the sound of the article, they don't have any sort of plan or solution to contain costs, either. The projections could prove a huge burden on countries with socialized medicine (you guys like taxes, right? heh) and the US (highest healthcare spending per capita of any first-world nation). It'll be interesting to see how it plays out, but the pessimist in me tells me there won't be much of a solution at all.
Haven't they found ways to cure cancer recently? Or was that all theoretical crap?
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;32487694]Haven't they found ways to cure cancer recently? Or was that all theoretical crap?[/QUOTE] I haven't heard anything about that. If you remember the link, I'd be interested and edit it into the OP. But it seems unlikely that they found a blanket cure for all forms of cancer; that, or they did and it was completely unfeasible due to resources/finances. Still, just speculation since I haven't heard about it.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;32487694]Haven't they found ways to cure cancer recently? Or was that all theoretical crap?[/QUOTE] It's probably harder in practice. Like the breakthrough with disabling AIDS virus, the key was to remove cholesterol from their membrane which is their "protective shield" as I see it. And that sounds incredibly hard as it is.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;32487694]Haven't they found ways to cure cancer recently? Or was that all theoretical crap?[/QUOTE] probably the cure for only a specific type of cancer, which in itself is a bit of an ironic statement; cancer just mutates on it's own and doesnt give a fuck
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