Widespread shortages of cancer drugs are forcing doctors to make difficult decisions about how to treat their patients, including rationing doses and turning to other treatment options with potentially more side effects.
As of Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration listed 14 cancer drugs in shortage.
Among the drugs in shortage is carboplatin, a chemotherapy agent used as a first-line treatment for a number of cancers.
“Carboplatin is such an important drug for the treatment of many cancers — breast cancer, ovarian, head and neck, lung cancer, among several others,” said Dr. Lucio Gordan, a medical oncologist and president of Florida Cancer Specialists and Research Institute, a network of cancer clinics. Gordan said they were completely out of the drug for nearly two weeks.
[EXTERNAL LINK] - As cancer drug shortages grow, some doctors are forced to ration doses or delay care
As of Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration listed 14 cancer drugs in shortage.
Among the drugs in shortage is carboplatin, a chemotherapy agent used as a first-line treatment for a number of cancers.
“Carboplatin is such an important drug for the treatment of many cancers — breast cancer, ovarian, head and neck, lung cancer, among several others,” said Dr. Lucio Gordan, a medical oncologist and president of Florida Cancer Specialists and Research Institute, a network of cancer clinics. Gordan said they were completely out of the drug for nearly two weeks.
[EXTERNAL LINK] - As cancer drug shortages grow, some doctors are forced to ration doses or delay care
