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Out-of-Pocket Costs for Breast Cancer Chemotherapy

Cancer; ePub 2016 Oct 10; Giordano, Niu, et al

Patients can incur significant out-of-pocket expense when they receive breast cancer chemotherapy, according to a study involving nearly 14,700 individuals.

Participants—all with breast cancer—were administered chemotherapy within 3 months of diagnosis. When investigators looked at out-of-pocket costs, they found that:

  • The median was more than $5,000 for those with high deductible plans.
  • One-fourth paid at least $8,000.
  • 10% paid more than 11,000.

Citation:

Giordano S, Niu J, Chavez-MacGregor M, et al. Estimating regimen-specific costs of chemotherapy for breast cancer: Observational cohort study. [Published online ahead of print October 10, 2016]. Cancer. doi:10.1002/cncr.30274.