The FDA ignores the cost-benefit ramifications of the expensive cancer drug:

What is the true cost of this drug? While the average charge a provider may pay for Avastin may be $7,700 a month, it certainly isn’t what a patient is billed. My experience in reviewing hundreds of medical claims involving Avastin shows that the average monthly patient charge when given in an oncologist’s office is closer to $18,000 a month, while many hospitals charge more than $35,000 a month. With 38,000 American women eligible for this drug and an average treatment of six months, we suddenly have several billion dollars added to our annual health-care tab.

Stephen Smith looks further at the complexity of the decision.