Background: Defining ‘value’ in terms of cancer care expenditure compared to outcomes is fraught with controversy. Increasing costs of cancer care exert pressure on public healthcare budgets and on the national economies of countries, with Australia spending over $3.8 billion on cancer prevention and care in 2012-2013. It is therefore incumbent on healthcare authorities and governments to seek cost efficiencies in this area without compromising healthcare outcomes.
Purpose: To determine the cost of cancer prevention campaigns as well as cancer care in Australia, the factors influencing costs and evaluate the ‘value’ of this expenditure.
Methods: A comprehensive literature review using the all major databases indexing Australian medical journals, as well as government publications, was undertaken.
Results: Over $1,988 million were spent in hospital based cancer care in 2001 while the pharmaceutical cost of cancer was $183 million, with 68% of hospital expenditure being spent on cancer treatments. The cost of treatment with some novel drugs is $150,000-$200,000 per patient for an additional year of survival. Public health and behaviour modification programs such as ‘Slip, Slop and Slip’, National Tobacco Program and screening services cost over $130 million in 2013. Studies demonstrated excellent value in terms of saved lives and relieving the burden of cost on the healthcare system. Given the expected increase in incidence of cancer in Australia and the attendant costs associated with care, there will likely be a sharp increase in cancer-care related expenditure in the near future.
Conclusion: To date, Australia has managed to optimise the value of cancer prevention and control approaches and expenditure in terms of having some of the best cancer outcomes in the world. The challenge for future governments and clinicians is to maintain and even improve these outcomes while constantly evaluating cancer control plans for their cost-effectiveness.