TAMPA, Fla. — Cancer centers across the country are dealing with prolonged shortages of generic cancer drugs.
According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, nearly all the centers it surveyed were dealing with shortages in a pair of drugs used to treat many different types of cancer. ABC Action News went straight to Moffitt Cancer Center to learn if and how this shortage is impacting the Tampa Bay area and how leaders there are handling it.
Kenneth Komorny, vice president and chief pharmacy officer at Moffitt, explained the specific drugs involved in the shortage.
“Cisplatin, Carboplatin and 5-fluorouracil are the three that are concerning right now,” said Komorny. However, he added that the main focus is on Cisplatin and Carboplatin.
These drugs are used to treat a wide variety of cancer. Komorny specifically mentioned thoracic, gynecologic and head and neck cancers.
“The drugs that are impacted that we are talking about right now are chemotherapy drugs. They actually kill cancer cells and, in many situations, are curative for patients in their cancers,” said Komorny.
Right now, Moffitt is dealing with a supply and demand issue. Komorny explained the steps their leaders are taking to deal with this drug shortage.
“We have been able to shift some of the treatment regimens that we have. As far as I know, we have not made any dosage reductions or changes in duration of treatment and we have restricted for use for Moffitt patients,” said Komorny.
Medication shortages like these have been going on for decades, but Komorny said, "the past three to five years, it seems like oncology medications are impacted more than other medications.”
He explained the bottom line of this particular drug shortage.
“These are some of the most important drugs that we use in the treatment of cancer. So to not have these available or to only have them available in a limited fashion—I don’t know of a medication class that could be more concerning for us right now,” said Komorny.
In the pharmacy at Moffitt, they often meet to assess where the supply is relative to the demand. Komorny explained these meetings are crucial because as they have more supply, they can take restrictions off.
He also said late last week, Moffitt removed the restriction on Cisplatin because of the supply they currently have, and the FDA is now allowing approved versions to be imported through China to help with the supply issues.
