The 5000% case: a glimpse into the financial issue of lung cancer treatment
This is an outstanding and provocative editorial comment concerning treatment costs of lung cancer based on an article published in the last issue of the European Respiratory Journal. It reveals discrepancies in access to new therapies based on therapeutic targets due to molecular testing and treatment costs.
The clear solution to the outlandish cost of lung cancer treatment in Europe is to stop foolish delay of implementation of population lung cancer screening. The solution in the U.S. is to stop short-sighted and cruel policies that restrict access to life-saving screening to millions at very high risk of lung cancer. Spending $150 on screening CT followed, when necessary, by $20,000 for minimally invasive surgery, is far more rational, humane, effective and cost-effective than spending hundreds of thousands on drugs for advance stage lung cancer that cure few and extend life only by only a few months in most instances.
Frederic W. Grannis Jr. MD Long Beach California