Bending the cost curve in cancer care. by Smith TJ, Hillner BE. N Engl J Med. 2011 May 26;364(21):2060-5. free full text Annual direct costs for cancer care are projected to rise — from $104 billion in 20061 to over $173 billion in 2020 and beyond.2 This increase has been driven by a dramatic rise in both the cost of therapy3 and the extent of care.4 In the United States, the sales of anticancer drugs are now second only to those of drugs for heart disease, and 70% of these sales come from (...)