these advancements are important not only for patient welfare but also for economics. a collaborative
canadian study, published in current oncology in 2021
, looked at the economic burden of continuous oral targeted therapy for cll in canada. researchers considered the previous standard of care for cll before 2015, chemoimmunotherapy, to the current oral targeted therapy from 2020 onward. a study model included four health states: watchful waiting, first-line treatment, relapse and death. costs of therapy, follow-up and monitoring, and adverse events were included.
as incidence and survival rates are increasing, the prevalence of cll in canada is projected to increase 1.8-fold, from 8,301 patients in 2011 to 14,654 by 2025. the corresponding total annual costs of cll management are predicted to increase 15.7-fold, from $60.8 million to $957.5 million during that same period.
although oral targeted therapy improves survival for patients with cll, it comes at a price because of the projected vast increase in costs from 2011 to 2025, the authors note. “changes in clinical strategies, such as implementation of a fixed oral targeted therapy treatment duration, could help alleviate financial burden.”
another game-changing treatment for all is car t-cell therapy, where a patient’s t-cells are taken from their blood, re-engineered in a lab to target cancerous b-cells, and then infused back into the patient. dr. natasha kekre, a hematologist and scientist at the ottawa hospital and an associate professor at the university of ottawa, is setting up a network to make car t-cells in canada called
canadian-led immunotherapies in cancer
. the aim is to build a manufacturing platform in a public healthcare setting, making this life-saving treatment available to patients, healthcare professionals and researchers. reshoring drug manufacturing can help manage the supply chain, employ canadians and ultimately lower medication costs.