Breast Cancer: Bone-Targeted Therapies

Cancer costs in the United States continue to escalate at an alarming and unsustainable rate. These costs are not driven exclusively by a higher demand for services or by an aging population; rather, a number of systemic failures, highlighted by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), continue to plague our cancer care delivery systems and need to be rectifi ed. Drug costs, plus expensive diagnostic tests, hospital admissions/readmissions, and unreasonable end-of-life care, combine to infl ate the total cost of care. Cancer, particularly lung cancer, is one of the most expensive diseases in the United States. While individual oncologists are unlikely to infl uence costs in the short term, they can become more profi cient at evaluating the value derived from new treatment options and maximizing the clinical benefi t for their patients. Discussions of cost and patient values need not hinder patient-physician relationships, and, in fact, can strengthen them. This article discusses ways in which the oncologist can incorporate value into the management of patients with lung cancer and comply with the underlying principles of the Choose Wisely Campaign, as well as recent American Society of Clinical Oncology and European Society for Medical Oncology initiatives, to bend the cost curve downwards while maintaining effi cacy. Bruce Pyenson, FSA, MAAA discusses the power of collaboration on page 537. PERSPECTIVE