Some chemotherapy drugs in short supply, leaving doctors with tough decisions

TAMPA, Fla. - Cancer patients across the country are running into a major problem that could cost them their lives. Certain chemotherapy drugs are in short supply, causing doctors to make tough decisions about treating patients.

The American Cancer Society says chemotherapy drugs are back on the list of the top five drug classes hit by this shortage. It says the shortage is serious and life-threatening.

"A lot of centers are identifying who they can allocate drug to and who doesn't get drugs," Moffitt Cancer Center Chief Pharmacy Officer Ken Komorny said. "So, they're actually making decisions on which patients are getting those therapies and which aren’t."

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The Moffitt Cancer Center says the drugs Cisplatin and Carboplatin are becoming harder and harder to get access to.

"These foundational treatment drugs that are central to two patients treatments, a lot of curative treatments as well," Komorny said. "And what we're seeing is that they're typically older generic drugs that are less expensive and there's just not a priority of production."

Komorny says the shortage isn’t foreign to hospitals. He says medication shortages have been persistent over the last 10 to 15 years, and he expects them to continue.

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"It's kind of a simple issue of supply and demand and how do we maintain an adequate supply to treat patients that really need to be treated, and you need to be resourceful in how you do that," he said.

Thankfully, Komorny says the Moffitt Cancer Center has been able to keep enough stock of these drugs to continue treating patients. But, he says it’s an ongoing problem that’s going to take more than strategic stocking to solve.

"Is there a legislative effort to assure that we're not running out of these drugs which are essential and critical for our patients," Komorny said.

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Komorny says they’re constantly monitoring the supply of these drugs. He hopes to see continued discussions at the federal level about legislation to assure a stable supply chain.

Right now, Komorny advises any patients impacted by these shortages to keep talking with their doctors and to not give up on taking these lifesaving medications.