[SONDA] What can be done to effectively spend on hematooncology?

- There has been tremendous progress in hematooncology, both adult and pediatric. Knowledge in this field is rushing forward so much that methods that were used in the past are now obsolete. That's why it's so important to quickly get modern drugs, both biologic drugs and signaling pathway drugs, onto reimbursement lists. Today it is still taking too long in Poland. Patients deserve to be treated with the latest methods," said Prof. Alicja Chybicka, member of the Parliamentary Committee on Health, chairwoman of the Parliamentary Group for Rare Diseases.

- Spending money efficiently in hematooncology is very important, just as it is important to reimburse innovative drugs that enter the market and can serve to cure cancers for which no treatment was available until recently. We also need regional accessibility. We need to build the system of oncological care in such a way that everyone who lives even in a smaller town has easy access to it," pointed out Marcelina Zawisza, deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Health Committee.

- Admittedly, we have increasingly better access to highly specialized treatment in hematology and oncology in general. Still, Polish patients have access to only one-third of what is emerging in the category of innovative drugs worldwide. It is necessary to enter the field of personalized medicine as widely as possible, Marek Hok, deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Health Committee.

Investment in treatment innovation is crucial, according to parliamentarians, not least because of the problem of treatment resistance. This is the case with diseases such as plasmocytic myeloma, among others.

- Drug resistance is one problem, and the other is autoimmunity. We need to invest in wide availability of treatment," said Marcelina Zawisza.

- Personalized drug therapy could result in effective and efficient treatment. The availability of home and outpatient treatment is important," Marek Hok pointed out.

- Drug resistance is a big problem. Modern genetic testing already shows not only the characteristics of the cancer, but also of the patient himself. Therefore, the future is personalized therapy, in which we will know that the administration of a given drug will be met with resistance," pointed out Prof. Alicja Chybicka.