More than 20% of treatments recommended by the European Society of Oncology are unfunded.
Two out of ten treatments recommended by the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) have no funding at all. Of the 139 treatments approved by the European scientific community, only one in three – 33% – are fully funded and almost half (45%) have restrictions on care. This is reflected in the report Oncoindex from the Alivia Cancer Foundation, which shows the level of government funding for modern cancer treatments.
According to the above-mentioned report consulted by the ABC, Spain made virtually no progress in 2024, with a score of 54 in government funding for cancer treatment, which remained unchanged throughout the year. And this despite the constant increase in cancer incidence in our country. 286,664 new diagnoses annually and cancer is responsible for 25% of all deaths, according to Spanish Network of Cancer Registries.
These treatments include common diseases such as breast cancer mother, prostateovaries or colon and rectum According to the report, they have not seen any changes in their funding since the beginning of the year.
For Asencio RodriguezDirector General of the Alivia Foundation in Spain, this situation shows “that the necessary treatment of cancer patients in this country remains unfunded, despite the recommendations of scientific societies and the requests of patients,” reports COM Salud.
“The government continues to fail to listen and does not speed up authorization procedures and not to take measures that could improve the quality of life of numerous Spanish patients,” the leader adds.
He Oncoindex This is the first report in Spain aimed at informing patients about the state of public funding for oncology and hematology drugs. This indicator is based primarily on drugs registered European Medicines Agency (EMA) over the past 15 years. Among these approved drugs, Oncoindex shows a list of proven effective treatments included in the ESMO guidelines.
“The OncoIndex offers a clear and transparent view of the current state of funding for advanced cancer treatments in Spain, allowing patients and healthcare professionals to make informed decisions about available treatment options,” he says. Asencio Rodriguez.
Guides Clinical practice of ESMO They are widely used in cancer therapy. They have been shown to be effective in treating a variety of tumor types, significantly improving clinical outcomes and patient quality of life by tailoring recommendations to specific ethnic and geographic differences.