Fu M, Naci H, Booth CM, et al. - Over the past decade, a substantial increase in the estimated use of new cancer drugs without documented clinical benefit has been noted, with major cost implications.

• This cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the use of and spending on new oral targeted cancer drugs in US residents with employer-sponsored insurance between 2011 and 2018, stratified by the strength of available evidence of benefit.

• Participants were 37,348 patients who received 1 or more of 44 new oral targeted cancer drugs.

• An increase from 13% in 2011 to 59% in 2018 was evident in the proportion of patients receiving drugs without documented overall survival benefit; accounting for 52% of the $3.5 billion estimated cumulative spending on the new oral targeted cancer drugs by the end of 2018.

• Overall, cancer drugs without documented overall survival advantages are adopted in the health system and account for substantial spending.