New U.S. cancer drug prices increase 53 pct in 5 yrs: report

LONDON, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The annual price of a newly-launched cancer drug in the United States averaged 283,000 U.S. dollars last year, a 53 percent increase from 2017, Reuters has reported.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, oncology treatments are nearly four times as costly as other therapies and are largely paid for by taxpayer-funded programs like the U.S. government's Medicare plan for people aged over 65, said the Reuters report on Wednesday, citing a new research from U.S. Democratic Representative Katie Porter.