Back to Search Start Over

An economic evaluation of the war on cancer

An economic evaluation of the war on cancer

Authors :
Eric C. Sun
Carolina M. Reyes
Anupam B. Jena
Darius N. Lakdawalla
Dana P. Goldman
Tomas Philipson
Source :
Journal of Health Economics. 29:333-346
Publication Year :
2010
Publisher :
Elsevier BV, 2010.

Abstract

For decades, the US public and private sectors have committed substantial resources towards cancer research, but the societal payoff has not been well-understood. We quantify the value of recent gains in cancer survival, and analyze the distribution of value among various stakeholders. Between 1988 and 2000, life expectancy for cancer patients increased by roughly four years, and the average willingness-to-pay for these survival gains was roughly $322,000. Improvements in cancer survival during this period created 23 million additional life-years and roughly $1.9 trillion of additional social value, implying that the average life-year was worth approximately $82,000 to its recipient. Health care providers and pharmaceutical companies appropriated 5-19% of this total, with the rest accruing to patients. The share of value flowing to patients has been rising over time. These calculations suggest that from the patient's point of view, the rate of return to R&D investments against cancer has been substantial.

Details

ISSN :
01676296
Volume :
29
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Journal of Health Economics
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....567e6acd8e6948ffeca43a403b68ded9
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2010.02.006