A new drug for cancer introduced in 2014 costs about six times the price of a new drug in 2000, with the cost of many other drugs to treat the disease increasing in price significantly during that time, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina found the skyrocketing prices line up with changes in health insurance making patients responsible for more of the cost and potentially put people in the position of not being able to afford treatment.

Cancer drugs taken orally, which are better targeted to attack cancer and are often preferable to intravenous chemotherapy, has been a focus of the pharmaceutical industry.

Private insurance has often favored orally-delivered cancer drugs, offering what researchers call "generous coverage," but in recent years more of the cost has been shifted to consumers, which could cause problems.

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