Cancer Medicines: What Is Essential and Affordable in India?

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Public Health
• Health Economics

Background:

• The World Health Organization Essential Medicines List (EML) is crucial for guiding national drug selections.
• Evaluating oncologists' priorities and medicine availability is key to understanding cancer care gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the highest priority cancer medicines according to Indian oncologists.
• To assess the availability and accessibility of these essential cancer drugs in routine Indian practice.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of a global electronic survey on cancer medicine priorities and availability.
• Survey distributed via snowball sampling to physicians prescribing systemic anticancer therapy.
• Data collected on oncologists' top 10 priority medicines and their accessibility.

Main Results:

• Indian oncologists prioritized conventional cytotoxic drugs, aligning with the WHO EML.
• Limited universal access reported; 19%-58% of oncologists noted significant out-of-pocket expenditures.
• High risks of catastrophic expenditure and financial toxicity, especially in the private health sector.

Conclusions:

• Priority cancer medicines, often generic chemotherapy, are available but unaffordable for many Indian patients.
• Financial burdens are substantial, particularly within the private healthcare system.
• Urgent strategies are needed to ensure affordable and accessible high-quality cancer care in India.