Lung Cancer

The rising cost of healthcare, including cancer care, is an established trend in the United States. In 2015, Americans spent $3.2 trillion (nearly $10,000 per person) on healthcare, including hospital inpatient and outpatient care, physicians’ services, and prescription drugs. The National Cancer Institute estimates that by 2020, the annual cost of healthcare for Americans with cancer will reach $156 billion; based on current trends, this means that cancer care will represent approximately 20% of the country’s annual healthcare expenditures.

Copenhagen, Denmark—Immunotherapy for advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) took a step toward first-line indication as results from a randomized clinical trial showed that patients who received pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus chemotherapy had a significantly higher response rate compared with patients who received chemotherapy alone, reported Corey J. Langer, MD, Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress. The clinical trial results (KEYNOTE-021) were also published in Lancet Oncology, and are available online.