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Risk of Serious Side Effects of Breast Cancer Chemotherapy

Many clinical trials are not designed to accurately estimate the risks of important side effects posed by new treatments. To better assess the risks of serious adverse effects experienced by women with breast cancer treated with chemotherapy outside of clinical trials, Hassett et al. (p. 1108 ) analyzed medical insurance claims of matched breast cancer patients who did or did not receive chemotherapy but who were otherwise very similar. Chemotherapy recipients were more likely than non-recipients to experience each of eight serious side effects of chemotherapy, and the frequencies of several side effects were higher than had been reported in clinical trials. The authors estimate that the annual incremental cost of serious side effects due to breast cancer chemotherapy was $1271 per chemotherapy recipient, or approximately $45 million nationwide. They suggest that a more accurate assessment of the risks associated with cancer therapies would aid decision making by clinicians and patients.