Access to Cancer Medicines in Türkiye Through Legal Avenues: An Analysis from the Perspective of Medical Ethics

Cancer remains a leading cause of disease-related mortality worldwide. Advances in oncology have enabled the development of novel therapies, including targeted therapies and immunotherapies, that act more selectively on cancer cells than conventional treatments. In Türkiye, medicine reimbursement is administered by the Social Security Institution (SSI) through the national health insurance system. However, some newly developed and high-cost cancer medicines are not reimbursed, leading some patients to seek public coverage through litigation. This practice raises ethical concerns by creating tension between individual claims to the right to health and the fair allocation of scarce resources, while also drawing attention to inequities in access to healthcare. This article analyzes litigation-based access to cancer medicines in Türkiye through the four principles of biomedical ethics and discusses key ethical challenges, with a focus on fair, transparent, and sustainable reimbursement processes.