Tehran University of Medical Sciences Basic & Clinical Cancer Research 2228-6527 10 3 2018 07 02 12 21 EN Alireza Darrudi Master of Sciences Student in Health Economics, Health Management and Economics Department, Students Scientific Research Center, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Rajabali Daroudi Health Economics, Health Management and Economics Department, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2018 03 11 2018 07 02 Background: In recent years, financial coverage and availability of new and expensive cancer drugs have changed into one of the challenges of the health system, especially in low-income and middle-income countries,. We studied the availability ofanticancer drugs, insurance coverage and the financial burden of these drugs in Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, first, we listed effective cancer drugs according to the World Health Organization’s Model List of Essential Medicinesand previous studies. Then, we evaluated financial burden of these drugs byusing the available data in Iran pharmaceutical Pharmacopoeia, the national pharmaceuticalsales statistics database (pharmaceutical Amarnameh), and inquiry of the insurance organizations, the availability, insurance coverage in Iran. Excel softwarewas used for data analysis. Results: All of the medicines incorporated into the latest version of the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines were available in Iran, and, except for Bendamustine and Anastrazole all medicines were covered by insurance. In addition, of the 19 drugs,those were not on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, there were sevendrugs in Iran, insurance covered that six drugs. The total Dollar sales of the studied cancer drugs amounted to US$350.85 million in 2015 and US$384.96 million in 2016. Conclusion: It seems that the status of access to effective cancer drugs in Iran is better than many low and middle-income countries. However, since the cost of cancerdrugs is rising, health policy makers inevitably need to prioritize cancer drugs by using the results of health technology assessment methods and provide patients withaccess to drugs that are cost-effective in order to the optimal allocation of limited resources and provide maximum access to cancer drugs throughout the country. https://bccr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/bccrj/article/view/276 https://bccr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/bccrj/article/download/276/02