Re-evaluating the cost of outpatient cancer chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy for common malignant tumours has historically been considered relatively expensive. An examination of costs at the Toronto-Bayview Regional Cancer Centre and Sunnybrook Medical Centre, Toronto, suggests that this perception is not accurate. The cost of chemotherapeutic agents administered on an outpatient basis over 4 to 6 months in established drug protocols ranged from $260 to $5374 (mean $2224). The total cost of outpatient …