Pharmacologist Shares Insight on Cancer Drug Shortage

Pharmacology expert Maria Pino, Ph.D., associate professor at NYITCOM, is quoted in The Ritz Herald and Daily Advent regarding a monthslong shortage of the chemotherapy drugs carboplatin and cisplatin. Low inventory of these drugs, which are viewed as ‘mainstays’ in cancer therapy, are causing hospitals and healthcare systems across the country to ration the products and postpone necessary, lifesaving treatments. Pino explains that the shortage is impacting a variety of cancer patients, as cisplatin is used to manage and treat many solid tumors, including gynecological, testicular, and lung cancers, as well as hematologic (blood) malignancies, while carboplatin is often used to manage ovarian cancer.

“Carboplatin and cisplatin remain the ‘classical drugs’ in the treatment of cancer. This shortage can delay treatment, increasing psychological anxiety to the patient, family, and all those involved in the patient’s care,” Pino tells The Ritz Herald.