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Purpose: Cancer treatment remains a significant and escalating healthcare expense worldwide. Although annual reports on total cancer care costs are available, the potential impact of evolving treatment guidelines and the introduction of new drugs on future budgeting remains largely uncertain. The aim of this study was to examine the trends in the use of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)-subsidised cancer drugs in Australia over the past decade., Methods: PBS codes for all PBS-subsidised cancer drugs that were listed in government-endorsed treatment protocols were obtained and used to retrieve usage data. Their patterns of use, represented by the number of prescriptions (services) processed by Services Australia, were analysed for the period between 2012 and 2022., Results: The overall prescribing of cancer drugs is outpacing Australia's population growth, primarily due to an ageing population and the accelerated rise in cancer diagnoses observed over the past decade. From 846 eviQ protocols, 141 cancer drugs were available on the PBS, of which kinase inhibitor (39 drugs) and monoclonal antibody drugs (24 drugs) had the highest increase in use during the study period; 16% and 23% respectively. Of the 8 drug classes, hormonal agents (20 drugs) were the most prescribed., Conclusion: The utilisation of PBS-listed cancer drugs is increasing faster than population growth, especially for high-cost monoclonal antibody and kinase inhibitor drugs, indicating continued pressure on government spending., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: Platinum drugs have been in use in cancer treatment for more than 40 years, but little is known about the pattern of their use. The aim of this study was to examine the patterns of platinum drug use, with a secondary aim to describe the occurrence of dose reductions., Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of oncology pharmacy dispensing records from a single hospital in Australia. Data related to drug choice, regimen and dose reductions were included in this study if the patient had received their last round of chemotherapy between November 2014 and July 2015., Results: Of the 156 patients included in the study, 46% were dispensed a platinum drug during their treatment. The most commonly dispensed drugs were cisplatin (40%), carboplatin (40%) and oxaliplatin (15%), while some patients (5%) received more than one platinum drug. Dose reductions were more common in patients who were treated with a platinum drug (73%) compared with patients treated with non-platinum drugs (55%). The most common reason for a dose reduction was cytopenia., Conclusions: The findings suggest that platinum drugs remain one of the most commonly dispensed drugs to treat cancer patients and most patients receive a dose reduction during treatment.