The delay in access to innovative drugs in oncology in Spain, compared to Europe, worries experts, who have been warning of the impact for some time in patients of those delays. The third Thursday of June is celebrated World Cancer Day Kidney and, this year, from the Alivia Oncology Foundation, they focus on access to therapies for this type of tumor. The number of medications recommended by the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) to treat kidney cancer with public funding completeness has been reduced by less than half from 2021 to the present, they point out.
Four years ago, there were six drugs financed by only two in 2024, according to the ‘Oncoindex’ report, carried out by the entity, which collects updated data from the drug financing oncology in our country. This year’s latest report also reflects six drugs financed with restrictionsthey add.
More cases
For the Alivia Foundation – which was born in 2010 in Warsaw, Polandto help cancer patients – the worsening access to oncological drugs for kidney cancer is even more worrying due to the significant increase in cases over the years.
In 2024 there will be 9,208 new cases of kidney cancer, maintaining the upward trend in incidence, prevalence and mortality
According to the report of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology ‘Cancer figures in Spain 2024’, estimates suggest that there will be 9,208 new cases of kidney cancer, maintaining the upward trend in incidence, prevalence and mortality. This cancer represents the eighth most prevalent tumor type in the country, with an incidence that is approximately double in men compared to women.
Scientific evidence
One of the drugs that does not have public funding, says the Alicia Foundation, is ‘Lenvatinib’, of which “there is scientific evidence about its benefits in the survival of patients with kidney cancer.” They refer to works such as the one published in Journal of Clinical Oncology earlier this year confirming these benefits.
In this study the researchers concluded that “the combination of Lenvatinib and pembrolizumab in patients with previously untreated advanced renal cancer was in a consistent survival benefit and long-lasting, with side effects that can be treated and managed“.
Worse financing?
Does the financing of drugs for kidney cancer It is worse in Spain than in other countries around us? “We only have data from Poland, but we intend to add more countries in the future. And currently we are above them in kidney cancer. But the difference is getting smaller,” he responds to EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA Asensio Rodríguez, general director of the Foundation.
“Oncology patients (or their caregivers) must take a more active attitude in defending their rights,” says the Foundation.
This entity denounces this situation and assures that “cancer patients (or their caregivers) must take a more active attitude in defending their rights. The first step is always education and information and, therefore, we denounce inequities in access to oncological medications through the updated information that provides the ‘Oncoindex’“.
The role of patients
But what room for maneuver does a patient – or an association – have to confront these inequities? Rodríguez responds: “We want all cancer patients to be treated according to to current medical advances. Thanks to our OncoIndex tool, you can consult recommended medications by ESMO and its funding status,” he adds.
This tool, he explains, provides the patient with a list that they should consult with their doctor. “It is very common for doctors not to be updated on new recommended treatments, especially if they are not funded in Spain. Therefore, we put a second tool at the patient’s service: OncoMap. Here you can find specialist doctors with whom you can consult the list of medications“, indicates this expert.
The inequities
But not only from this entity do they show your concern about access to oncological drugs and the delays in Spain. This Wednesday All.Canan international organization whose goal is to identify how to optimize the use of resources In cancer care, it had an impact on the same aspect.
Prestigious specialists such as Dr. Luis Paz-Aresvice president and member of the Board of Directors of the Spanish Cancer Research Association (ASEICA) and head of the Medical Oncology Service at the 12 de Octubre Hospital or Dr. Mariano Provencio, Corresponding Academic of the Royal National Academy of Medicine and Head of Oncology at the Puerta de Hierro Hospital in Madrid.
The importance of time, a fundamental premise of this platform’s new report, they point out, does not refer exclusively to to the negative effects that delay in starting treatment can have on disease progression and patient health outcomes.
Psychological impact
Of course, with every day its start is delayed, there is a chance that the cancer cells multiply, spread to other parts of the body and become more difficult to treat, it is indicated. Therefore, the sooner treatment is started, the better the chances of controlling the disease and improving outcomes. It also refers to its socio-psychological impact.
This is stated in the new report of the Scientific Committee of this platform, entitled ‘Cancer does not understand waiting times: 10 recommendations for the improvement of the patient experience oncology from diagnosis to treatment’, which has been presented in a session of the Health Commission of the Congress of Deputies.