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Cost of Cancer Care: Issues and Implications

Neal J. Meropol, Kevin A. Schulman

From the Divisions of Medical Science and Population Science, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; and the Center for Clinical and Genetic Economics, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC

Address reprint requests to Neal J. Meropol, MD, Fox Chase Cancer Center, 333 Cottman Ave, Room C307, Philadelphia, PA 19111; e-mail: neal.meropol{at}fccc.edu

Medical technology is increasingly costly in most fields of clinical medicine. Oncology has not been spared from issues related to cost, in part resulting from the tremendous scientific progress that has lead to new tools for diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of our patients. The increasing cost of health care in general (and cancer care in particular) raises complex questions related to its effects on our economy and the citizens of our society. This article reviews the macroeconomic principles and individual behaviors that govern medical spending, and examines how cost disproportionately affects various populations. Our overall goal is to frame debate about health policy concerns that influence the clinical practice of oncology.

Presented in part in written format in the 2005 Ameican Society of Clinical Oncology Educational Book.

Authors' discolsures of potential conflicts of interest and author contributions are found at the end of this article.

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