Survey Finds Few Americans are Aware of the Cancer Drug Shortage

A 2016 13-item cross-sectional survey of 420 Americans showed that just 16 percent said they knew about cancer drug shortages, and among cancer survivors, just 31 percent were aware of shortages.

Participants were more likely to be aware of drug shortages if they were white, older, employed, insured, and had more income and education. Those who were aware of the drug shortages reported hearing about it from the news or Internet.

“For those undergoing cancer treatment, shortage-driven treatment changes have the potential to impact their care,” said lead study author Zachary Frosch, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Almost all respondents (87%) said they would want to know about any treatment substitutions that were made due to the drug shortages when alternative medications had major differences in effectiveness or adverse events (AEs). Sixty-one percent of participants said they would transfer care to avoid major differences in AEs, and 40 percent said they would do so to avoid just minor differences in AEs. People who were black, uninsured, or unemployed were less likely to say they would transfer care to avoid major differences in safety or efficacy.

Journal: Cancer