New alternatives to traditional standard cancer therapies include gemtuzumab ozogamicin for relapsed acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and dose-escalated BEACOPP*for advanced Hodgkin's disease. At the 42nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology held in San Francisco, California, US, in December 2000, 2 studies were presented detailing the economic benefits associated with these newer chemotherapy therapies relative to current favourites.1, 2