International analysis reveals striking differences in the cost and availability of cancer drugs

A recent analysis has revealed striking differences in the cost and availability of cancer drugs in different regions of the world, with significant gaps between high- and low-income countries. The findings are published by Wiley in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

The analysis, based on published studies and reviews on cancer and the availability of treatments, predicts that 28.4 million new cases of cancer will occur worldwide in 2040 alone. The incidence of cancer is expected to increase most significantly in low-income countries in the coming years. Cancer mortality rates are also increasing in low-income countries, while they have stabilised in developed countries.

Studies show that inequalities in access to treatment, lack of adequate screening, persistent exposure to carcinogenic risk factors and inadequate health-care infrastructure are the main reasons for the higher cancer incidence and mortality rates observed in low-income countries compared with high-income countries. In addition, clinicians’ current understanding of cancer and its optimal treatment is based largely on studies conducted in high-income countries, where the baseline health status of residents may differ from those in middle- and low-income countries.

Studies show that economic factors can be a major challenge to optimal cancer treatment worldwide. New cancer drugs such as immunotherapy can cost thousands of dollars more per year than standard chemotherapy. In addition, low-income countries spend less of their gross domestic product on cancer treatment than high-income countries, yet they often have to pay more for the same basic cancer drugs.

‘Cancer incidence and mortality are increasing worldwide and are expected to disproportionately affect people in low- and middle-income countries. Unfortunately, access to cutting-edge cancer treatments is much more limited in low- and middle-income countries due to prohibitive costs. In this paper, we have analysed the data and proposed several solutions that could help mitigate this widening inequality – including the use of quality generics and biosimilars, as well as the implementation of universal health coverage and international financing of medicine’

Fadlo R. Khuri, a board-certified physician and senior author from the American University of Beirut Medical Centre in Lebanon