The Economics of Personalized Therapy in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Though the prognosis for patients with advanced colorectal cancer has improved significantly over the past two decades due to the development of new chemotherapeutics and biologic agents, this progress has come at an increased cost to patients and to the healthcare system. The cost of cancer care in the USA is rising at an alarming rate and far in excess of spending in other developed countries. The identification of predictive biomarkers that can help clinicians target existing and future therapies to patients who are most likely to benefit (and away from patients who would not benefit) has the potential to improve the value of cancer therapy and direct healthcare resources more efficiently. Here, we review established and emerging predictive biomarkers in colorectal cancer treatment and the cost implications of utilizing these markers in clinical practice.