Drug access in Canada: Report of clinical practice experience in Toronto

Abstract

A widespread clinical implementation of cancer genome analysis and the development of new anticancer agents, such as molecular-targeted therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors, promise substantial benefits for patients with cancer. However, most of these drugs are not approved for pediatric patients in Japan, and systems enabling ready access to pediatric patients have not been well established; therefore, patients’ chances of receiving these therapies are limited. In contrast, these drugs can be used on a compassionate basis in Canada, allowing for high accessibility to innovative therapies and actual clinical benefits for pediatric patients. This paper introduces drug access in clinical practice of pediatric oncology in Canada.