Hematooncology: it's important not to let go of patients in subsequent lines

What does access to various hemato-oncology therapies look like today, and what is the situation of unmet needs of hemato-oncology patients in Poland?

A lot has happened for hematooncology patients in recent years. We are chasing Europe and the world. And we can indeed say that we are treating our hematology patients better and better. Even the recent changes in the reimbursement list bring something new again - bispecific antibodies - that's acute in follicular lymphoma. These changes make us very happy, but the other drugs, very highly rated after all, because they were on the top 10 list, such as glofitamab in DLBCL lymphoma, i.e. large B-cell lymphoma, are still not supplemented. We also have teclistamab, which had a very high rating. And this is an extremely important drug in my opinion, because it is a bispecific antibody for fourth-, fifth-line treatment. And making these newer therapies available has shown that we can improve and prolong patients' lives with it, while improving the quality of that life. And this, in addition to the hope of a long life, is the most important thing, because for the patient, yes, it's important how much he lives, but it's also important in what quality, whether he can function normally with his children, his family, whether he can work. Even when we're not talking about a 100 percent cure, because we don't know that yet, it's very important not to let go of these patients in subsequent lines. Supplement these lines, if medical discoveries allow it, go further.

And how do you assess hematology patients' awareness of the very new therapies you mention?

Surprisingly, Polish oncology patients are ready and open to gaining knowledge and, in many cases, very aware of medications. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they don't fully feel taken care of by the system, that there isn't enough time in the patient pathway for the doctor, nurse, coordinator to thoroughly explain and provide all the information. Datego patients themselves are dabbling, learning and trying to be an informed patient. It is extremely important to know what drug you are being treated with. And there are patients who cannot answer what they are being treated with. They don't have that knowledge. We teach them that it's important to know, because it's important in the context of compliance with the doctor's instructions and what kind of side effects a particular drug has, or if and how these side effects can be fought or prevented. Building knowledge among hematooncology, oncology patients is very important. Let's be responsible patients who are partners with the doctor and medical staff in the process of our treatment. This also gives us peace of mind and a sense of control over the disease. And this strengthens our power.