They are common chemotherapy drugs that have been saving the lives of cancer patients for decades, but they are now in short supply.
Dr. Urjeet Patel says as many as 30 percent of his patients at Cook County Health have seen their treatment regimens change because of shortages of Cisplatin and other critical treatments.
“It’s a delicate issue” Patel said. “On one hand, we obviously want them to get the best care but there are times when we suspect or even know we may not be able to give the best care.”
There are many reasons for the shortages, which affect hospitals nationwide, from supply chain hiccups to factory disruptions to companies simply choosing not to make the low-profit margin drugs.
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According to the Food and Drug Administration, more than 130 drugs are in short supply. Of those, 14 are cancer treatments.
Senator Dick Durbin is urging the Food and Drug Administration to do more to combat the crisis.
After a letter from the Illinois lawmaker, the FDA approved the importation of an injectable version of Cisplatin.
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Durbin called the move a positive first step, but he said he wants to see the creation of a strategic essential medicine reserve, just like the one for petroleum.
The Chairman of the Judiciary Committee said the U.S. needs to be prepared for these shortages so that “people don’t actually die waiting for bureaucrats in Washington or even members of congress to do the right thing.”
Patel said the shortages are having a cascading effect. When one drug runs low, he said, doctors can use a second drug, but now secondary treatments are running low in supply as well.
What is unknown, Patel said, is what the long-term effects on outcomes the shortages will have. “Every day that goes by, there are patients who are being treated in a way that we would not choose as our first choice. We really don’t want to go a single day more like this,” he told NBC Chicago.
