A cancer patient receives chemotherapy. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

The use and cost of cancer-battling drugs skyrocketed despite an attempt by Medicare to control and rein in drug costs.

A research team led by Mark Hornbrook, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Portland, Oregon, studied thousands of patient records between 2003 and 2006. Their aim: to see if the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 — reducing reimbursements for various cancer treatment drugs — had any dampening effect on drug treatments.

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Dan Cook

Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.

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