Journal
CONTEMPORARY CLINICAL TRIALS
Volume 29, Issue 1, Pages 1-8Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.cct.2007.04.004
Keywords
clinical trials; prescription drugs; cost analysis; cancer
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Objective: To estimate the effect of clinical trial participation on drug utilization, drug costs, and out-of-pocket expenditures for cancer patients. Methods: The study used a national probability sample of patients participating in cancer clinical trials and a matched cohort of patients not enrolled in trials but receiving treatment for the same cancers from the same providers. Subjects were interviewed about prescription drug utilization and out-of-pocket drug expenditures. We estimated treatment costs based on a large pharmacy transaction database. Multivariate regression was used to estimate the effects of trial participation on drug costs and out-of-pocket expenditures. Results: Participants in clinical trials incurred higher prescription drug costs than non-participants: an average of $131 over a six-month period. However, there was no significant difference in out-of-pocket expenditures for the two groups. Conclusions: Participation in clinical trials was associated with a modest increase in prescription drug utilization and costs, but these costs did not necessarily impose an economic burden on cancer trial participants. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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