Lisa Holle, assistant clinical professor at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, talks about a recent study that has found there are shortages of oncology drugs that are putting some cancer patients at risk.
According to a survey of more than 240 oncology pharmacists, 98 percent reported experiencing a shortage of at least one oncology drug in 2011 and 93 percent of those responding said a drug shortage had caused either a delay in patient chemotherapy or a change in treatment.
With cancer patients, there are certain specific treatments that are shown to be best for treatment of the cancer. There is little room for interchangeability, so drug shortages can cause significant problems for patients, according to Holle.
Click here to read the full report on the study.