U.S. cancer centers say a growing shortage of common treatments is forcing doctors to switch medications and delaying some care. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network says that nearly all of the centers it surveyed late last month were dealing with shortages of two chemotherapies. Some hospitals are no longer able to treat patients receiving carboplatin on their intended dose and schedule. Experts say the shortages developed earlier this year after a factory in India paused production following an inspection that generated concerns about quality. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has taken some steps to try to ease the shortage. Dr. Kari Wisinski has had to turn to other treatments for some patients or switch the order in which people receive their drug combinations. She said she’s done that “hoping that within three months there will be a better carboplatin supply.” Wisinski is a breast cancer specialist with the UW Health Carbone Cancer Center in Madison, Wisconsin, a member of the network. She said doctors, nurses and pharmacists at her center have done a good job managing the drug supply, but doing so has taken them away from other elements of care. Of the 27 cancer centers that responded to the network’s survey, 25 reported a shortage of carboplatin. Among the cancer centers with shortages of carboplatin, more than a third said they were unable to treat all patients according to the intended dose and schedule. Nineteen hospitals also reported cisplatin shortages, but all said they were able to maintain the treatments for existing patients.
