ArticleBMC health services research2021
Assessing the prices and affordability of oncology medicines for three common cancers within the private sector of South Africa.
Article in BMC health services research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in the Treatment for Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Oncology research · 2025Pooled it
- Access to essential medicines for noncommunicable diseases during conflicts: The case cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and epilepsy in Northern Syria.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Plant-Derived Anti-Cancer Therapeutics and Biopharmaceuticals.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Understanding medicine access strategies for innovator medicines registered in South Africa.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- The financial burden of noncommunicable diseases from out-of-pocket expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.Health promotion international · 2024Article
- Biochemical progression free and overall survival among Black men with stage IV prostate cancer in South Africa: Results from a prospective cohort study.Cancer medicine · 2024Article
- Access to childhood cancer medicines in South Africa: a health systems analysis of barriers and enablers.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2024Article
- Quality of Life in Female Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors in a South African Municipality.Breast cancer : basic and clinical research · 2024Article
- Alignment in the registration, selection, procurement and reimbursement of essential medicines for childhood cancers in South Africa.BMJ global health · 2023Article
- Molecular Farming of Pembrolizumab and Nivolumab.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Trends in the utilization of medicines sold in the private sector post- registration in South Africa and the implications for similar countries.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Barriers and Facilitators of Adherence to Oral Anticancer Medications Among Women with Breast Cancer: A Qualitative Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2023Article
- A comprehensive survey of cancer medicines prices, availability and affordability in Ghana.PloS one · 2023Article
- Automatic detection and classification of lung cancer CT scans based on deep learning and ebola optimization search algorithm.PloS one · 2023Article
- Access to and Affordability of World Health Organization Essential Medicines for Cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa: Examples from Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.The oncologist · 2022Article
- Patients' pathways to cancer care in Tanzania: documenting and addressing social inequalities in reaching a cancer diagnosis.BMC health services research · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrices of cancer medicines are a major contributor to the cost of treatment for cancer patients and the comparison of these cost needs to be assessed.
objectivesTo assess the prices of cancer medicines for the three most common cancers ((breast, prostate and colorectal) in the private healthcare sector of South Africa.
methodsThe methodology was adapted from the World Health Organization (WHO)/ Health Action International (HAI) methodology for measuring medicine prices. The Single Exit Price (SEP) variations between product types of the same medicine between the highest- and lowest-priced product and between Originator Brand (OB) and its Lowest Priced Generic (LPG) of the same medicine brand was compared, as of March 2020. The affordability of those medicines for cancer usage based on treatment affordability in relation to the daily wage of the unskilled Lowest-Paid Government Worker (LPGW) was also determined. Also, a comparison of the proportion of the population below the poverty line (PL) before (I
resultsSEP Price differences ranged from 25.46 to 97.33% between highest- and lowest-priced products and a price variation of 72.09% more for the OB than the LPG medicine, except for one LPG that was more expensive than the OB. Affordability calculations showed that All OB treatments for all three cancers (breast, prostate and colorectal), except for paclitaxel 300 mg (0.2 days wage) and Fluorouracil (Fluroblastin) 500 mg (0.3 days wage) costs respectively were more than 1 day's wage, with patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer needing 32.5 days wages in order to afford a standard course of treatment for a month.
conclusionThere was a considerable variation in the price of different brands of cancer medicines available in the South African private sector.
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