Skopje, 23 January 2025 (MIA) — Cancer cases keep rising and more patents require more cancer therapeutics, the quantities of which "cannot be predicted and determined in advance with the greatest precision," the Oncology and Radiotherapy Clinic said in a press release Thursday.

The release was issued following Wednesday's meeting between representatives of several hospitals and Health Insurance Fund director Sasho Klekovski, which had been convened to discuss keeping a national registry of people living with cancer.

According to the release, the Oncology Clinic keeps detailed records of cancer patients including the quantities of biological therapy treatments existing patients need. For the purposes of providing clarity and transparency to the Health Insurance Fund, the information will be made available in the form of a registry.

The release said the clinic's medical expert panel was of the opinion that older generic drugs should be put on the national Positive List of Prescribed Drugs, given that even non-innovative, 20-year-old drugs were still being procured with a conditional budget.

"Regarding the expert panel, it is important to note that, after a long hiatus, it has been working in full gear over the last two years," the release added, pointing out that the panel reviewed all cases of cancer before prescribing biologics and then monitored the therapy results.

However, the number of advanced and metastatic cancers "will only increase, with a larger number of patients expected next year," the release said, adding that the Oncology Clinic needed more staff to provide better medical care to the patients.

"The medical expert panel is also of the opinion that the cancer registry will remain non-functional until a data updating department is staffed accordingly, given the high workload demands on the current staff in the clinic, who, despite the shortage we are facing, put in superhuman efforts to treat and care for our patients," the release said.

The Oncology Clinic also said its staff hoped the relevant authorities would approve of new hires to relieve the shortage of doctors. mr/