Pharmacoeconomics

With the rising cost of cancer care, there is a necessity felt to address this unique demanding situation. Unique in sense, desperation and hope are playing the main role for economic expenditure by the patients in diseases where outcomes are largely limited. However, in certain diseases, immunotherapy and small molecules (tyrosine kinase inhibitors) have improved outcome that is never witnessed in the past. For example, chemotherapy combined with programmed death (PD) 1 or PD Ligand 1 inhibitors in lung cancer. This creates a situation of “between the devil and the deep blue sea” for patients when cost is beyond the reach.

Patients have been supported financially by various central and state governments, nongovernmental organizations, close relatives, and friends. In spite of this, high cost of treatment is a new cause of poverty in our country. To protect our patients and their families from financial toxicity, it is the collective social responsibility of all stake holders in cancer care including the treating doctors to protect patients from financial hardship. Academia has immense potential and has to come forward in bringing the solutions for this perpetual problem in cancer care. One of the solutions or answers is “Pharmacoeconomics.”

In this special issue of Indian Journal of Medical and Pediatric Oncology, we have worked with eminent medical oncologists from India and overseas and tried to provide few simple and easier ways of reducing the cost of cancer treatment. I hope the readers of this journal will enjoy reading this special issue and learn new approaches of cost saving.

Publication History

Article published online:
02 July 2022