Escalating Costs of Cancer Treatment: The Local Effect of a Global Reality

While incidence of cancer has been increasing worldwide, so has the cost of cancer treatment. As newer anti-cancer drugs and diagnostic tools have become available, the results of pharmacoeconomic studies have also become more important in the recent years, in guiding cancer treatment policies and reimbursement decisions.

In Brazil, there will be more than 466,000 new cases of cancer in 2008. In this very populated developing country, health policy makers and administrators of private and public health services are becoming increasingly concerned about the cost of cancer treatment.

This health economic project utilized the database of Unimed, a private health care plan which is the biggest in the southern Brazil. The Unimed health plan has over 45,000 clients & 300,000 users in Cascavel region.

The cost of oncology drugs from 2003 to 2007 at two cancer treatment centers in the region was analyzed. The results showed a progressive increase in the expenses at these centers.

Over the period of 5 years, the claims for oncology drug increased 4 fold in one center, and an astronomical 13 fold in the other center. By 2007 the total cost of oncology drugs exceeded US$ 600,000 & US$ 1 million in these 2 oncology centers. Details of the population treated, average cost per patients etc over this period will be presented in the full poster.

While only about 20% (40 million) of the population of Brazil are covered by such private health plans, the dramatic increase of cancer treatment costs seen within this health plan of a single patient population puts in perspective the concerns and funding pressures facing health plans in Brazil, and perhaps the rest of the world.

There is a need for more robust pharmacoeconomic studies to provide clearer treatment guidance and for formulating healthcare policies, so that patients receive better treatment outcomes. A comprehensive Health Technology Assessment processes may also help to streamline how private and state health plans cover such newer treatments, thereby enabling them to provide optimal level of care and services to their patients.

In conclusion, these local Brazilian data confirms that escalating cost of cancer treatment is also a reality in the developing world. Without the support of strong health economic data, it may become increasingly challenging for cancer patients in Brazil to have access to these newer cancer medications.