Public health Policy, research + analysis

Changing lives: Improving access to blood cancer treatments in Australia

January 2024

Changing lives: Improving access to blood cancer treatments in Australia

A trio of blood cancers are killing Australians.

These cancers affect people of all ages and walks of life, and despite improvements in life expectancy, the number of people diagnosed each year continues to grow. [1] As the 135,000 Australians living with blood cancer know all too well – the diagnosis is difficult, and treatment is even more challenging. [1]

An additional Australian is diagnosed with blood cancer every 27 minutes. [1]

Approximately 2,212 Australians died from leukaemia in 2022. [1]

Only 55% of patients are alive five years after diagnosis with multiple myeloma. [2]

Approximately 7,397 Australians were diagnosed with lymphoma in 2022. [3]

The opportunity for change

Many patients treated with newer and novel therapies can expect to live longer with less disease burden than conventional treatment options. [6, 7] Targeted therapies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, bispecific antibodies and Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors, are changing the treatment paradigm of blood cancers for the better. These treatments offer hope for patients, but only if they can access them within Australia’s health system.

Investment in best practice treatment for blood cancer is an investment in the hope of a future for Australian patients.

To better understand blood cancer treatments in Australia and the gaps in access, Evohealth collaborated with an expert advisory committee of clinicians and a patient advocate to author this report.

With deaths from blood cancer ranked third of all cancers in Australia, our citizens expect timely access to treatments that support them to live longer and better despite a blood cancer diagnosis. [15]

Our report, Changing lives: Improving access to blood cancer treatments in Australia, proposes seven recommendations to change lives and improve access to life-saving treatments for blood cancer in Australia:

Enhance incentives offered for ARTG registration in Australia to ensure that, as a country, our regulatory process is commensurate with similar advanced economies and health systems.

Establish a separate authority outside of the scope of HTA committees that considers price and budget impact.

Leverage the policy imperative from the mid-term review of the NHRA, and current HTA review, to deliver a single HTA body to evaluate all therapies, including high-cost and highly specialised treatments.

Establish a single source of Federal funding for high-cost therapies as part of the mid-term review of the NHRA.

Conduct a comprehensive review of restrictions for PBS-subsidised blood cancer therapies to ensure alignment with contemporary best-practice clinical care.

Within the current HTA review, ensure that flexible pricing and payment models are included that adequately capture the value that combination therapy can deliver to patients with blood cancer.

Embed an ongoing five-year review process into Australia’s HTA framework following the outcomes of the current HTA review.

References

1. Leukaemia Foundation. Blood cancer facts and figures. 2023; Available from: https://www.leukaemia.org.au/blood-cancer/understanding-your-blood/blood-cancer-facts-and-figures/.

2. Cancer Australia. Multiple myeloma in Australia statistics. 2022; Available from: https://www.canceraustralia.gov.au/cancer-types/myeloma/statistics.

3. Leukaemia Foundation. State of the Nation: Blood Cancers in Australia. 2023 [cited 2023 Dec 1]; Available from: https://www.leukaemia.org.au/how-we-can-help/advocacy-and-policy/state-of-the-nation/.

6. Dickinson, M. Expert Series interview: Associate Professor Michael Dickinson discusses CAR T-cell therapy. 2021.

7. Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. CAR-T Cell Therapy. 2023 [cited 2023 Sep 20]; Available from: https://www.petermac.org/patients-and-carers/treatments/haematological-treatments/cellular-therapies-program/car-t-cell-therapy.

15. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Cancer data in Australia. 2023, AIHW: Canberra.