Two out of ten therapies recommended by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) have no funding at all. Of the 139 therapies endorsed by the European scientific society, only one in three – 33% – has full funding and almost half (45%) have restrictions on aid. This is reflected in the report Oncoindex from the Alivia Cancer Foundation, which shows the level of public financing of modern oncological therapies.
According to the aforementioned report, consulted by ABC, Spain has barely made any progress in 2024, with a score of 54 in the level of public financing for oncological treatments that has not moved throughout the year. This is despite the continuous increase in cancer cases in our country, with 286,664 new annual diagnoses and with cancer as the cause of 25% of all deaths, according to data from the Spanish Network of Cancer Registries.
Among these therapies, treatments for diseases as prevalent as breast cancer mother, prostateovaries or colon and rectum They have not experienced any change in their financing since the beginning of the year, according to the report.
For Asensio Rodríguezgeneral director of the Alivia Foundation in Spain, this situation shows “that necessary treatments for cancer patients in this country remain unfunded, despite the recommendations of scientific societies and patient requests,” reports COM Salud.
«The Government continues not to listen, without expediting the authorization procedures nor take measures that could improve the quality of life of numerous Spanish patients,” adds the leader.
He Oncoindex It is the first report in Spain designed to inform patients about the state of public financing of oncological and hematological medicines. This indicator is based, first of all, on the drugs registered by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the last 15 years. Among these authorized medications, Oncoindex shows a list of treatments with proven effectiveness included in the ESMO recommendations.
“The Oncoindex offers a clear and transparent view of the current state of financing of modern cancer therapies in Spain, allowing patients and health professionals to make informed decisions about the available treatment options,” he says. Asensio Rodríguez.
The guides of ESMO clinical practice They are widely used in cancer therapies. They have been shown to be effective in the treatment of various types of tumors, significantly improving clinical outcomes and patients’ quality of life by adapting recommendations to specific ethnic and geographic differences.
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