ARKANSAS, USA — Cancer centers nationwide are feeling the effects of a drug shortage as some are being forced to reduce doses of certain types of chemotherapy.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) says the shortage has become a serious issue for some patients.
Officials with Highlands Oncology in Rogers say that they are aware of groups around the country who have to make the choice of who gets the drugs and who doesn’t because of the shortage.
While Highlands has not been directly impacted by the shortages yet, they say they are beginning to feel the nationwide effects.
“We have an absolutely fantastic pharmacy team that has been able to procure a lot of the drugs, but even now we're beginning to run a little bit short on them,” said Dr. Eric Schaefer, a medical oncologist at Highlands.
Schaefer says the shortage is mostly due to a production problem, “The reimbursement costs for these medicines are staying flat, but the costs to make the drugs are exceeding, so it's no longer profitable to make some of these drugs, and manufacturers can't make drugs that they can’t make a profit on.”
The shortage is not impacting all chemo drugs, however, Cisplatin and Carboplatin are two of the main drugs that are in short supply.
Schaefer says medical providers are often able to make substitutions that are equally as effective, but in some cases, these specific drugs are critical.
“Patients that we’re intending to cure with the treatments, we need to make sure they get the FDA-approved medications,” Schaefer said.
“We're trying to help prolong life, we have a little more ability to substitute other meds in for them, but people that we know are going for the cure, it's critical that they get the drug that they need.”
ACS said in a statement that they are urging Congress to look at long-term solutions to these shortages.
In the meantime, they say alternatives should be used when possible to avoid delayed treatment.
Schaefer says it’s vital to get those drugs to people who need them for a cure and continue to find ways to treat all patients.
“The last thing as a patient you want to do is to go in for your treatment and get a new treatment and not know why,” Schaefer said.
“So we always try to tell the patient up front, ‘Hey, listen, this is going to be our goal regimen for you. But if we do run into short supply, we have another good regimen we'll tell you about,’ before they get treated so they're aware of everything.”
ACS says the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) is working with manufacturers to get to the root of what is causing the shortage and increase production.
Schaefer says looking ahead, he imagines these drugs will continue to be in short supply until reimbursement for them is increased and companies are incentivized to produce them.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.