Cancer Costs in US to Reach US $158 Bn in 2020

Medical expenditures for cancer in the year 2020 are projected to reach at least $158 billion (in 2010 dollars) -- an increase of 27% over 2010, according to a National Institutes of Health analysis. If newly developed tools for cancer diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up continue to be more expensive, medical expenditures for cancer could reach as high as $207 billion, report the researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).  In 2010, medical costs associated with cancer were projected to reach $127.6 billion, with the highest costs associated with breast cancer ($16.5 billion), followed by colorectal cancer ($14 billion), lymphoma ($12 billion), lung cancer ($12 billion) and prostate cancer ($12 billion). Based on growth and aging of the U.S. population, medical expenditures for cancer in the year 2020 are projected to reach at least $158 billion (in 2010 dollars) - an increase of 27% over 2010.  To project national cancer expenditures, the researchers combined cancer prevalence, which is the current number of people living with cancer, with average annual costs of care by age (less than 65 or 65 and older). According to their prevalence estimates, there were 13.8 million cancer survivors alive in 2010, 58% of whom were age 65 or older. If cancer incidence and survival rates remain stable, the number of cancer survivors in 2020 will increase by 31%, to about 18.1 million. Because of the aging of the US population, the researchers expect the largest increase in cancer survivors over the next 10 years to be among Americans age 65 and older. "The rising costs of cancer care illustrate how important it is for us to advance the science of cancer prevention and treatment to ensure that we're using the most effective approaches," remarked Robert Croyle, of the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, NCI, who continued that: "This is especially important for elderly cancer patients with other complex health problems."