ADB f lags cancer treatment shortcomings as case count rises in Asia

ASIAN GOVERNMENTS must innovate in how they support cancer care, which is underfunded even while the incidence of cancer rises, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

“Compared to COVID-19, cancer is a long-term challenge for healthcare systems. No lockdowns can stop or slow the emergence of cancer incidences,” the ADB said in a blog.

“There is a massive gap in annual investment in public healthcare, with investment of less than $100 per capita in countries such as India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam compared to more than $3,500 per capita in Japan,” it added.

The ADB said that half of all cancer patients and their households in Southeast Asia face “financial catastrophe” from high medical expenditures.

In Asia, the annual number of new cancer cases increased from 4.9 million in 2002 to 9.5 million in 2020.

“The pandemic has put a spotlight on health system resilience around the world. Demands on healthcare provision have skyrocketed in record time and brought some healthcare systems to the brink of collapse. Public funds to purchase testing equipment, protective equipment, and later on also vaccines were cleared quickly,” the bank said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has created tremendous momentum in the field of healthcare. However, the long-term challenge for health systems in Asia lies with non-communicable diseases, in particular cancer, spurred by shifting demographics. There is an urgent need to address the growing demands in cancer care,” it added.

The ADB recommended that governments include new valueand evidence-based medicines in national formularies in order to maximize positive patient outcomes with limited resources.

“Health technology assessment is a tool to support evidence-based reimbursement decision-making for inclusion in national formularies, but its use is still in its infancy in many Asian countries,” it said.