The rising cost of various drug classes is not a new phenomenon for most Americans. In fact, it has become an expected occurrence in recent years, particularly for maintenance or life-sustaining medications.

One notable drug class that has experienced fluctuations in pricing is cancer or oncologic medication. Older cancer drugs have seen price hikes between 2010 and 2015, according to a research letter this month in JAMA Oncology. The researchers looked at 86 cancer drugs and found 55 that increased in price during the five-year span — 11 of which experienced price hikes of more than 100 percent.

For instance, The Street reported that Ariad Pharmaceuticals increased the price of Iclusig (ponatinib) for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) for the fourth time this year to approximately $199,000 annually.

The debate over drug pricing and the interplay between pharmaceutical companies, the government and consumers has created concerns for many about the accessibility of these drugs to the average American. The climate of rising drug costs has proved to be disappointing for many Americans, who see that profit is being valued over healthcare.

Initially, public awareness regarding the dramatic increase of drug prices came to a head in 2015 when the decades-old drug Daraparim, used for the treatment of toxoplasmosis, went from $13.50 per tablet to $750 per tablet, a 5,000 percent jump almost overnight. Ultimately, through continuous advocacy, a price reduction occurred, but the headlines started the conversation about how drugs are priced and the costs that are incurred by consumers.

More recently, the price of Epipens rose by 400 percent, which further raised concerns about massive price increases in the U.S., particularly for a drug that is used under emergency conditions — an important drug that one cannot go without.

The cost of cancer drugs has now become an issue, according to IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, which reports that the cost of oncology drugs will rise from 7.5 percent to 10.5 percent annually through 2020. In the United States, the cost of these drugs rose by 72 percent over the past five years.

Unfortunately, the pricing model that is used to establish the costs of these drugs is not considered to be rational, but rather can be attributed to how much the market is able to tolerate.

A study published in JAMA Oncology last year identified 51 cancer drugs that were approved between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2013. Those that were approved based on disease response rate compared to overall survival demonstrated the highest price. However, there was no difference in the prices among these drugs based on what they were approved to target. It is noted that about half of the growth in worldwide oncology spending can be connected to higher prices in the United States.

The topic of cost containment and more affordable pricing for consumers has been a topic of conversation for the Obama administration. With costs continuing to rise, the expectation is that this will bring with it a climate of change.

Americans want to be able to afford the drugs that are needed to achieve a good quality of life, and this can become compromised if prices continue to rise at the current rate.