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Immunotherapy Cost in India: Factors That Affect the Price
By Dr. Gajendra Kumar Himanshu
In India, immunotherapy usually costs between ₹2,00,000 and ₹6,00,000 per cycle for generic immunotherapies such as checkpoint inhibitors like pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and nivolumab (Opdivo). Advanced immunotherapy, such as CAR-T cell therapy, can cost between ₹30 lakh and ₹60 lakh. Total cost varies with type and stage of cancer, brand of medicine used, duration and number of cycles of treatment (4-12), hospital charges, and costs of supporting care. Immunotherapy therapies at Oncare Cancer Centres are offered at a cost that is approximately 30-40% lower than comparable corporate hospitals in India.
In this blog, we’ll dive deep into the cost of immunotherapy in India, factors affecting the cost of immunotherapy, and the cost difference at Oncare vs. other cancer hospitals!
Immunotherapy cost in India
The cost of immunotherapy in India can change according to hospitals and their policies. The average cost of immunotherapy in India varies significantly, starting from 200,000 to 600,000 rupees per cycle, while advanced immunotherapy treatments like CAR-T cell therapy are quite expensive when compared to other immunotherapies. Treatments like CAR-T cell therapy, generally range from 30 lakh to 60 lakh.
The overall cost of these treatments includes their hospital’s administration charge and cost of drugs, along with the procedure cost, which mainly includes the infusion charges with additional costs as well.
While the exact cost is highly variable and depends on the type of cancer, type of immunotherapy, and the duration of cancer treatments, and including the hospital’s administration charges along with policies.
Why choose Oncare for your Immunotherapy treatments?
If you are advised to get immunotherapy regarding your cancer treatments, then you can consider Oncare Cancer Center. Oncare offers affordable, high-quality treatments along with experienced specialist consultations. We provide comprehensive cost transparency and excellent patient care.
At Oncare, we focus on empowering patients to prioritize cancer healing by reducing the financial burdens while offering a patient-friendly and quality-of-care atmosphere for their cancer treatment journey!
Immunotherapy cost: Oncare Vs. Other Hospitals
Oncare | Other cancer Hospitals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Treatment procedure | Medicines used | Price range | Treatment procedure | Medicines used | Price ranges |
Checkpoint Inhibitors | pembrolizumab/ Keytruda | 2,15,000 rupees (1.2 Lakhs for drugs + 15,000 rupees for Infusion charges) | Checkpoint Inhibitors | pembrolizumab/ Keytruda | 2,50,000 to 2,60,000 rupees ( for drugs+ additional charges+ GSTs (terms and conditions apply) |
Checkpoint Inhibitors | nivolumab/ Opdivo | 2,35,000 rupees (1.2 Lakhs for drugs + 15,000 rupees for infusion charges) | Checkpoint Inhibitors | nivolumab/ Opdivo | 2,65,000 to 3,00,00 rupees (for drugs+ infusion charges+ additional charges+ GSTs (terms and conditions apply) |
Factors affecting the Immunotherapy cost in India
There are some important factors that influence the cost of chemotherapy in India. The factors like type of cancer, stage and extent of cancer, medication costs, overall duration of treatments, hospital infrastructure, and personal health conditions.
Here’s a list of factors that influence the cost of immunotherapy, including:
- Type of cancer: Each cancer is different, and these cancers need different types of treatment approaches. The patient's stage of cancer and the severity often influence the complexity and duration of the treatments; all of these affect the overall cost of your cancer treatments.
- Type of Immunotherapy: When the doctor is selecting a specific immunotherapy for a cancer patient such as checkpoint inhibitors or CAR-T cell therapy, then the patient may need to pay more than expected price ranges, as these treatments are advanced and generally expensive in nature.
- Doctors' experience and charges: The experience of the selected specialist and the hospital can affect your bills.
- Drug costs and infusion charges: The cost of an immunotherapy drug and its brand or its generic can be high, and along with procedures such as infusion, it can add up to the overall costs.
- Duration of treatments and its cycles: Patients with longer treatments courses or cycles can naturally increase the overall costs.
- Hospital costs (infrastructure, administrating charges): The selected hospital and its facilities, like infrastructure and administration charges, can contribute to the final costs.
How does the type of cancer and treatment regimen affect the cost of immunotherapy?
The type of cancer and treatment regimen often affect immunotherapy costs because both of these factors determine the specific drug and overall duration of the treatments. The cancer type influences which drugs are needed for the treatments because not all treatments are used for every type of cancer. The treatment plan is generally designed according to the patient’s specific type of cancer along with their personal health conditions.
Here’s how cancer type influences the cost of these treatments:
The cancer type and its stage and extent of growth affect the cost of specific drugs and specific treatments, that influence the cost of these treatments. Some complex cancer cases might require longer treatment protocols, which leads to higher costs.
For example: Leukemia, pancreatic cancer, and brain cancer need extended treatment protocols that leads to higher costs.
Here’s how treatment regimens influence immunotherapy costs:
The treatment regiment that influences the cost of immunotherapy, including the duration of treatments, dosages of medicines, and other combination therapies used in the patients.
The key factors may include:
- Treatment duration and cycles
- Dosage and frequency of medicines
- Combination therapies
For more trusted information about immunotherapy, cancer treatment options, and side effects, visit the National Cancer Institute.
Consult Today
Immunotherapy is a powerful treatment used for various types of cancer, offering new hope and promises to patients across the world, including India. The cost of immunotherapy can be high when compared to other treatment options used for cancer.
At Oncare, we offer premium-quality cancer treatments, including advanced cancer surgeries at affordable price ranges with an experienced cancer specialist consultation.
If you or any loved ones of yours are diagnosed with cancer, then visit Oncare Cancer Hospital and book an appointment with our cancer specialist today. Get an estimated cost of cancer treatments today!
Expert Insights by Dr. Vikram Singhal
Frequently Asked Questions
Immunotherapy is mainly used for, including:
- Bladder cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Head and neck cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Leukemia
- Liver cancer
- Lung cancer
- Lymphoma
- Melanoma
- Multiple myeloma
- Nasopharyngeal cancer
- Sarcoma
- Stomach cancer
- Triple negative breast cancer
Here are some of the benefits of Immunotherapy, including:
- Performing these treatments improves the long-term survival rates of many types of cancer.
- It destroys multiple tumor types and prevents tumors from returning many cancer cases.
- It can prevent several types of cancer from spreading.
- It stimulates the immune system to continue fighting cancer after stopping the treatment.
- These treatments cause several side effects which are less severe than compared to other cancer treatments such as chemotherapy.
There are different types of immunotherapy and each helps with a different immune system in a different way.
These may include:
- Check point inhibitors
- Adoptive cell therapy
- Monoclonal antibody therapy
- Cancer vaccines
- Immune system modulator
Each type of treatment carries both benefits and side effects. Additionally, several immunotherapies are more effective for some types of cancer than others.
Here are common side effects of immunotherapy, including:
- Fatigue
- Itchy skin
- Skin rashes
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Low thyroid levels
- Low blood counts
Written and Verified by:
Dr. Gajendra Kumar Himanshu Exp: 10 Yr
Medical Officer
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