Economic perspective of cancer treatment in India

Abstract

Financial constraints faced by the families play a vital role in cancer treatment refusal, non-adherence, and failure of the prescribed therapy. This review aims to give an insight into the economic perspective of cancer treatment in India, focusing on the accessibility and affordability of oncological drugs, and the move towards generics/biosimilars without compromising on the quality of the treatment. The monthly cost of a set of drugs available in India for the treatment of solid malignancies, approved after 2010 by the US FDA and the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) were calculated based on standard patient parameters. The information on the clinical trial, the monthly cost of treatment, and the availability of its equivalent have been compiled. Newer cancer drugs are approved based on surrogate endpoints, with a very modest prolongation of life, but the cost incurred can be unbearable. There is a considerable variation in costs between the innovator and the equivalent drugs, making the latter cost-effective. We have highlighted the importance of generics and biosimilars, as a cost-cutting strategy, in delivering state-of-art health care with a lesser chance of treatment abandonment: this will ensure that all patients have equal access to personalized medicine which are reliable, effective, and affordable for better curative, supportive, and palliative care.