Expert review of pharmacoeconomics & outcomes research
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Approximately 18% of US gross domestic product is spent on healthcare and 5% of that is for cancer care. With rapidly increasing oncologic drug prices, growth in cancer spending will likely far outpace overall healthcare spending growth. Developing cost-saving strategies is imperative, but economizing must not compromise patients' well-being. ⋯ At the current pace, the US payers cannot continue to afford increasing costs for cancer treatments. Research on maximizing patient outcomes for reasonable costs is essential. More analyses of quality of life assessment and cost-effectiveness can support future decisions about cancer care.