對抗癌癥的戰線傳出了一些壞消息：癌癥治療成本將越來越昂貴，患者要支付的費用也會越來越高。艾美仕醫療保健信息研究所的最新報告顯示，2014年的醫療保健費用增長了19%，達到58,097美元。

但也有好消息。確實是好消息：現在有更多用于治療癌癥的藥物療法——以及更多真正創新性的藥物療法。據艾美仕統計，過去五年，有70種新腫瘤藥物獲批用于治療20種不同腫瘤，包括突破性的免疫療法藥物，可以延長某些最致命癌癥患者的壽命，如晚期黑色素瘤和鱗狀非小細胞肺癌。

艾美仕研究所主任默里?艾特肯表示：“治療方案的數量和性質均有大幅改善。雖然我們依舊有很長的路要走，但我們不應該低估當前這種創新潮流的重要意義?！?

未來還會有更多藥物誕生：過去十年，制藥行業中的腫瘤藥物供應規模擴大了超過60%，目前有超過500家公司正在從事該領域藥物的研發。2015年，共有586種抗癌化合物已經進入臨床研發后期。十家規模最大的腫瘤藥物銷售商，有130種候選藥物正處在研發后期。

新藥物的增加也加快了藥品的上市速度。2015年，從專利申請到食品藥品監督局（FDA）批準的平均時間為9.5年，2013年為10.25年。最近獲批的幾種藥品僅用了4年時間便通過了審批，這在一定程度上得益于FDA的“突破性療法”認定，加快了對突破性療法的審批。

艾特肯指出，新藥物療法的迅速增加具有巨大的積極意義，但也給患者治療帶來了一些新的復雜性和經濟負擔。他說道：“這些藥物給醫療系統帶來的成本越來越高，產生了預算壓力。用于處理診斷費用的基礎設施，治療方案的執行等，均面臨著壓力?！?

事實上，這些昂貴的新藥物，使用范圍更廣，時間更長，是導致癌癥治療成本增加的主要原因。2015年全球腫瘤治療費用，比去年增長了11.5%，達到1,070億美元。艾美仕預計，到2020年，腫瘤治療費用將增長到1,500億美元。

這些成本越來越多地集中到美國，在2015年美國腫瘤治療費用占到全球總額的46%，2011年這一比例為39%。這種趨勢反映出新藥物療法在美國的可用性和可獲得性，但在世界大部分地區可用的新藥物療法依舊有限。美國可用的和報銷的新腫瘤藥物，超過其他任何市場。

艾美仕的報告還有其他值得關注的趨勢：

? 醫院治療尤其昂貴。相同的癌癥藥物，在醫院服用的費用，通常是醫師診所的兩倍。

? 藥房里的癌癥療法。越來越多的腫瘤藥物可以口服，不需要注射。

? 折扣增加。雖然患者要承擔更高的癌癥治療費用，但制藥商也開始提高折扣，幫助患者抵消這些成本。購買商業保險的患者提交的癌癥藥物處方中，有四分之一使用了優惠券，而在2011年僅有5%。 （財富中文網）

譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

Here’s some bad news from the war against cancer: treatment is getting more expensive and patients are paying more for it. The bill for a year of care rose 19% in 2014 to $58,097 according to a new report from IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics.

But there’s also good news. Really, really good news: there are far more medications—and genuinely innovative medications—for treating cancer patients. In the past five years, 70 new oncology drugs have been approved for treatment of 20 different tumor types, according to IMS. These include thegroundbreaking class of immunotherapy drugs that are extending the lives of patients with some of the deadliest forms of cancer, including advanced melanoma and the squamous form of non-small cell lung cancer.

“There’s been a tremendous boost in the number and nature of treatment options,” says Murray Aitken, Director of the IMS Institute. “We still have a long way to go, but we shouldn’t understate the significance of this current surge of innovation.”

There are certainly more new medications to come: the industry’s pipeline of oncology drugs has expanded by more than 60% in the past decade, with more than 500 companies now working in the field. In 2015, there were 586 cancer compounds in late-stage clinical development. And the ten largest sellers of oncology drugs have 130 candidates in their late-stage pipelines.

These new medicines are also making it to market more quickly. In 2015, the median time from patent filing to FDA approval was 9.5 years in the U.S., down from 10.25 in 2013. A few recent drugs have sped through the process in just 4 years, thanks in part to the FDA’s Breakthrough Therapy designation, which expedites approval for groundbreaking treatments.

Aitken notes that, while incredibly positive, this surge in new medications, has introduced some new complexity and strain in treating patients. “Clearly the rising cost of these drugs to health systems puts pressure on budgets,” he notes. “The infrastructure to handle the diagnostic cost, and the administering of treatments, all of that is under some stress.”

Indeed, these new medications, which are expensive and being consumed both more widely and for longer periods of time, are the main driver for the climbing expense of cancer care. Globally, oncology treatment cost 11.5% more in 2015 than they did last year, at $107 billion. IMS expects that figure to top $150 billion by 2020.

These costs are increasingly concentrated in the U.S., which in 2015 accounted for 46% of the global oncology bill, up from 39% in 2011. The trend reflects the availability and accessibility of new medications, which remains limited in much of the world. More new oncology drugs are available and reimbursed in the U.S. than any other market.

A few other trends highlighted by the IMS report:

? Hospitals are particularly expensive. Administration of the same cancer drug typically costs twice as much in a hospital as it does it a physician’s office.

? Cancer treatment at the pharmacy. An increasing number of oncology drugs are available as oral, rather than injectable, medications.

? The rise of the rebate. While patients are shouldering more of the cost of their cancer treatment, drug manufacturers are also increasingly offering discounts to help offset those costs. A quarter of cancer drug prescriptions filled by patients with commercial insurance, were partly covered by a coupon, up from 5% in 2011.