30,000 breast cancer patients at risk because of shortage of medications

The head of the Lebanese Breast Cancer Foundation (LBCF), Dr. Naji Saghir, disclosed in a statement yesterday that the foundation and all oncologists in the country are receiving calls from patients who are concerned about the shortage of Tamoxifen. The latter, the statement said, is one of the drugs on the WHO’s list of essential medicines which is given to breast cancer patients to reduce the probability of its recurrence, and is also prescribed in hormone therapy. Dr. Saghir revealed that Lebanon witnesses around 2500 new breast cancer cases every year, noting that the overall number of cases exceeded 40,000.  70% of the patients who have estrogen receptors on breast cancer cells are in need of Tamoxifen and Anastrozole or Letrozole for five or ten years, Saghir explained, warning that the shortage in these anti-cancer medications puts the lives of more than 30,000 patients at risk. He finally appealed to the authorities, drug and pharmaceutical importers and the Order of Pharmacists to work to secure the relatively cheap medicine. (Al Diyar, October 20, 2020)