Drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors have greatly improved the survival of many cancer patients The drugs are expensive, however, and new research suggests many uninsured people just can't access them More must be done to create policies that help every cancer patient access these meds MONDAY, June 3, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- A cutting-edge class of drugs is saving and extending the lives of cancer patients. But the drugs, called immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), are so expensive that some uninsured Americans can't access them, a new report finds. New policies are needed "to improve health insurance coverage options and to make new treatments more affordable," the American Cancer Society (ACS) said in a news release outlining the findings.
The study was led by ACS researcher . Her team presented the findings Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. ICIs include such blockbuster cancer medications as pembrolizumab ( ), ipilimumab ( ), nivolumab ( ) and atezolizumab ( ).
According to the , the drugs focus on what are known as "immune checkpoints" -- proteins on the surface of immune T-cells that prevent the cell from binding to another cell, such as a tumor cell. Immune checkpoints are natural mechanisms meant to keep immune reactions from running amok. However, disengaging these checkpoints in the presence of a cancer cell is crucial to allowing immunotherapies to work.
A drug that inhibits checkpoint proteins "prevents th.
