The cost of radiation therapy.

Background And Purpose: The rising cost of health care is of universal concern. If the cost effectiveness of conventional and novel radiotherapeutic strategies is to be established we need to have confidence in our estimates of both cost and effectiveness. The purpose of this study is to explore the degree of consistency of recently published cost estimates for radiation therapy.

Methods And Materials: Eleven publications form the basis of this analysis. From each study we have estimated the cost of a 21 fraction course (when possible) of radiation therapy. The costs have been decomposed into the three inputs: process, clinical infrastructure and supporting infrastructure. We have also investigated the time course of radiation therapy costs over the last two decades.

Results: From the latest four studies we conclude that the cost of a 21 fraction course of radiation therapy is 3239 euro+/-566 euro. The percentages of this total spent on process, clinical infrastructure and supporting infrastructure over the last 15 years are 54, 29 and 17, respectively. The real increase in the cost of radiotherapy over the last 15 years is estimated to be approximately 5.5%.

Conclusion: Cost estimates for radiation therapy appear to be converging. However, we will need far more sophisticated analyses in the future if we are to establish the cost effectiveness of the newer treatment strategies currently under active clinical investigation.