Real-World Outcomes of Incurable Cancer Patients Treated with Unlisted Anticancer Treatments in an Academic Center in Quebec, Canada

Abstract

Medical oncology is a rapidly evolving field, with new medications being discovered yearly, contributing to increased survival rates. However, accessing drugs in a timely manner can be challenging. In Quebec, Canada, a physician can prescribe an unlisted anticancer treatment through a regulated pathway under exceptional circumstances. We conducted a quality improvement study describing the outcomes of incurable cancer patients receiving unlisted anticancer therapy at the Jewish General Hospital between 2018 and 2019. Though our study did not include a comparator arm, unlisted anticancer therapies were associated with interesting median progression-free survival (11 months) and overall survival (25 months). Moreover, a large proportion of treatments, 44%, were subsequently reimbursed in the province of Quebec. Given the delay in anticancer drug reimbursement, this pathway is essential for timely access to oncology drugs. Such ‘special access’ programs will likely become increasingly important as precision medicine becomes the standard of practice.

Keywords

• Quebec
• Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH)
• Institut national d’excellence en santé et services sociaux (INESSS)
• incurable cancer
• unlisted medications
• drug approval