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Background: We aimed to identify causes of change in cancer treatment costs over time. Methods: This study used trend analyses to assess the percentage of cancer patients who had received a specific treatment type and the mean cost of care for patients who had received that treatment. Findings: Analyses of patients diagnosed in 2007 showed that the National Health Insurance (NHI) system paid, on average, $10,780 for initial care of a gastric cancer patient and $10,681 for initial care of a lung cancer patient, which were inflation-adjusted increases of $6234 and $5522, respectively, over the 1996 care costs. During the same interval, the mean NHI payment for initial care for five specific cancers increased significantly (p<0.05). Hospitalisation costs comprised the largest portion of payments for all cancers. During 1996-2007, the use of chemotherapy and radiation therapy significantly increased in all cancer types (p<0.05). Interpretation: In 2007, NHI payments for initial care for the studied five cancers exceeded $12 billion, and gastric and lung cancers accounted for the largest share. Therefore, the NHI must accurately predict the economic burden of new chemotherapy agents and radiation therapies and may need to develop programmes for stratifying patients according to their potential benefit from these expensive treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]