Amid much discussion around comparative effectiveness of medical treatments and whether cost should be a factor in treatment decisions, a new article in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute estimates it would cost $440 billion to extend life by one year for the 550,000 Americans who die annually of cancer, reports the WSJ . The authors, from the National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health, say that 90% of cancer drugs approved in the past four years cost more than $20,000 for 12 weeks worth of treatment. Some drugs have limited upsides, and these shouldn’t be developed unless they will cost patients less than $20,000 for a standard course, they say. Two more recommendations from the authors: doctors shouldn’t prescribe cancer medicines for non-approved purposes, and new medicines with marginal benefits shouldn’t be used for those with advanced cancer. Treating lung-cancer with Erbitux, a Bristol-Myers and Eli Lilly drug, costs $80,000 for an 18-week regimen but extends life by only 1.2 months, the authors estimate. Bristol-Myers

says the real-world cost number of Erbitux is closer to $10,000 a month. Drug makers say the cost estimates are often exaggerated because most patients are only on them for limited amounts of time and many received financial assistance, according to the WSJ. So the challenge is this: How to develop new medicines — especially those that might help certain individuals a lot even if the benefit to patients as a group isn’t impressive — while trying to keep costs in check. “We can’t add on Mercedes-like drugs one after another and have every single patient cost the system phenomenal amounts of money,” Eric Winer, chief scientific adviser to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a breast-cancer advocacy group, told the WSJ. “But we have to be careful not to slow down the process of drug development. Ultimately it is medical therapy that will make a huge difference in people’s lives.” Image: iStockphoto

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New Cancer Drugs: Most Not Worth the Cost?