TORONTO - Groups that advocate for cancer patients are using a new report from the United Kingdom to bolster their call for greater access to cancer drugs in Canada.
The report said that of 14 countries studied, Canada ranked 13th in usage of cancer drugs launched in the last five years.
On Thursday, the Cancer Advocacy Coalition of Canada renewed its request that the federal, provincial and territorial ministers of health create a national catastrophic drug plan for cancer patients.
"I think this means that many cancer patients, many Canadians, aren't getting the treatments that might help them for their cancer," Dr. Kong Khoo, vice chair of the coalition, said from Kelowna, B.C.
"We have to make the people who are gatekeepers and guardians of our health-care system responsible for providing this care to Canadians."
He acknowledged that the subject of a national drug plan has been around for years, but hasn't really moved forward and "we need to kick-start the process."
The U.K. ranked 12th in the study, and the government there responded by announcing a fund of 50 million pounds to start covering cancer drugs not yet approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.
"We should be asking, based on the U.K. government's robust investment as a result of their own country's low ranking, we should be asking ourselves where the leadership is in Canada," said Aaron Levo, assistant director of national public issues for the Canadian Cancer Society.
"What's the federal government doing to help improve financial access to drugs for Canadians?" he said from Ottawa.
Of the 14 countries studied, only New Zealand ranked lower in usage of cancer drugs launched in the last five years.
The report, entitled Extent and Causes of International Variations in Drug Usage, said it's important to stress that there is not always a consensus about the optimum level of drug usage in different disease areas.
"The appropriate level of usage may vary because of different factors at work in different health economies," the report said. "Patient representatives consulted during this study stressed that levels of drug usage alone should not be used as a measure of the quality of services."
Levo said that one in 12 Canadian families is experiencing extreme financial stress due to catastrophic drug expenses when they have no drug insurance plan. And while some individual provinces have made strides, he said the patchwork approach has led to disparities among regions.
"Adequate coverage is really important and we've seen that the average cost per course of treatment of newer cancer drugs is getting close to $65,000," Levo said.
"What the Canadian Cancer Society is really concerned about is that how much you end up paying out of pocket for your drugs depends on where you live," he said.
"We have no agreed national standard for how much these drugs should cost Canadians."
