Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
2124190 | European Journal of Cancer | 2008 | 5 Pages |
Abstract
The rising cost of new molecularly-targeted anticancer drugs has become a major issue in oncology. One small but significant factor contributing to this problem is the routine co-administration of loading doses, which may inflate the cost of the first treatment by as much as US$1000. Here, we question the cost-effectiveness of this practice in cancer patients on several grounds, including non-urgent pace of disease, lack of evidence for survival benefit, weak dose-dependency of biopharmaceutical efficacy in cancer and the unproven validity of the ‘volume of distribution’ concept applied to target-specific drugs.
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Authors
Richard J. Epstein, Bernard M.Y. Cheung,