What is included in the list of drugs that the oncology association forwarded to the drug basket committee? “In order to maintain our position as a leading country in cancer treatment, we must remain at the forefront in adopting new treatments,” the association says, adding: “A higher percentage of people will recover from the disease following these drugs.”

The cancer drugs recommended for the basket: On the occasion of the start of the work of the drug basket committee for 2023, the oncology association compiled its list of recommendations for drugs that should be prioritized in the upcoming discussions. The list received by ynet today (Wed) shows that, similar to previous years, this year too there will be extensive representation for the different types of tumors, including breast, lung, gynecological-oncology, digestive system, urinary tract, skin tumors, sarcomas and head and neck tumors.

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“In order to maintain our position as a leading country in cancer treatment, we must remain at the forefront of adopting new treatments for this group of diseases,” it was stated at the beginning of the list of recommendations sent today to the Ministry of Health, ahead of the start of the discussions. “The main goal of oncology treatments is to increase the rate of patients who recover from cancer. These are pre- and post-operative treatments (neo-adjuvant and adjuvant). These treatments are limited in time and can return patients to the cycle of life, work and family for many years. For this reason, we found it appropriate To rate this type of treatment in high places,” the union stated.

The annual budget of the basket committee has not yet been determined and last year it was NIS 550 million. The Ministry of Health is expected to soon publish the list of the basket committee members.
These are the main drugs recommended by the association:
Abiraterone – preventive treatment for prostate cancer.
Nivolumab – given together with chemotherapy before surgery in patients with lung cancer.
Pembrolizumab – for preoperative chemotherapy.
Abmciclib – for two years as an adjunct to preventive hormonal treatment in cancer patients.
Situzumab – for the treatment of patients with breast cancer.
Pembrolizumab – for the treatment of patients with metastatic or recurrent cervical cancer in the first line.
Enportumab – for the treatment of metastatic urothelial cancer that has progressed after platinum-based chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Sutorsib – in non-small cell lung cancer patients carrying the KRAS G12C mutation.
Dorvalumab – for the treatment of advanced small cell lung cancer.
Tabnetfosp – for the treatment of patients with melanoma of the eyeball.
Olafrib – for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer.
Prof. Gil Bar Sela, chairman of the Israeli Oncology and Radiotherapy Association, said: “The list contains many drugs that reflect major studies conducted this year regarding the very large contribution of preventive treatments, which reduce the risk of recurrence of the disease, such as prostate, breast and lung cancer. These treatments are given before or after surgery or radiation therapy. These treatments reduce the risk of disease recurrence among a larger percentage of people who recover from it in the long term. That is, a higher percentage of people who will recover from their illness following these drugs.”

Dr. Yonatan Cohen, Director of the Clinical Research Unit at the Hadassah Oncology Institute and Chairman of the Prioritization Committee of the Oncology Association, commented on the list and said: “There are several types of drugs that we will recommend this year. The first group is intended for patients who are undergoing surgery and who we hope will be cured of the disease and these drugs will help them in this Abiraterone and Cathedra in several different types of cancer, e.g.

“The second group is intended for patients with widespread disease where the chance of recovery is small. Nevertheless, there are drugs with the help of which a certain percentage of patients continue to live. We are talking about this mainly about drugs that work on the immune system in tumors of the upper digestive system.

“The third group is a category that is more difficult to classify. Today’s oncology is becoming more personalized, that is, subgroups that in the past we would treat as one type of tumor, and today we understand that this is not the case. The drug mobisartin, for example, is intended for a relatively specific group but achieves good results in those patients”.