The number of people treated with chemotherapy is increasing faster than the number of new cancer cases. In 2011, more than 2 million hospitalizations for chemotherapy were carried out, reveals the Inca.
The number of chemotherapy sessions continues to increase. According to the “Annual report on the situation of cancer chemotherapy” posted online by the Inca on July 13, in 2011, nearly 2,250,000 hospitalizations for chemotherapy were carried out in health establishments. The overall number of sessions increased by 3.8% over the same period. So nearly 300,000 people were hospitalized in 2011 to undergo chemotherapy.
Less cancer but more chemo
Surprisingly, in recent years, the number of people treated with chemotherapy seems to be growing faster than the number of new cases of cancer. For the National Cancer Institute, several reasons explain this increasing trend: the indications for chemotherapy are increasing, many cancers are chronic diseases whose prognosis has improved, and patients are treated at more advanced stages of cancer. sickness.
In its assessment, the Inca also assesses the economic weight of chemotherapy. However, “for the first time since 2004, the expenses related to the anticancer drugs of the list in addition (the expensive drugs, editor’s note) experienced a decrease of 9% on average compared to 2010, mainly due to the decrease in the price of the drug. docetaxel ”, underline the rapporteurs. The bill remains heavy, however, since anticancer molecules represented, in 2011, more than half of the total cost of reimbursed molecules on the extra list with an expenditure of more than one million euros. And what weighs the heaviest in the balance are the famous targeted therapies, which alone account for 34% of these expenses.
Half of MAs are targeted therapies
Targeted therapies are steadily gaining ground. The Inca report highlights this progression: just over half of the new molecules put on the market between 2004 and 2012 belong to the so-called “targeted therapies” class (ie 22 drugs). Before 2004, only 4 molecules of targeted therapy had an MA.
The arrival of these new targeted therapies, which mainly concern cancers of the blood, digestive system and breast, is obviously a step forward. However, the Inca report clearly shows that not all of these treatments are revolutionary. “It is interesting to note that in colorectal and pulmonary cancers, two important locations in terms of incidence, there were no ASMRs I to III attributed,” write the rapporteurs. The ASMR, which stands for improvement in actual benefit, is an assessment of the therapeutic progress provided by the drug in terms of efficacy or tolerance compared to existing therapies. Progress is qualified as “major” for an ASMR 1, “important” for a level II and moderate for a level III. The number of ASMR levels I, II and III is actually tending to decline.
Despite everything, these targeted therapies constitute therapeutic progress and the Inca pleads for them to be more accessible, “their high cost posing the problem of their being supported by the community to ensure their equal access. The National Cancer Institute therefore insists on the need to advance negotiations on the prices of these drugs, between regulatory authorities and firms. “We have a unique health system, which we must help to preserve,” concludes the Inca.
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