A comprehensive survey of cancer medicines prices, availability and affordability in Ghana

Mattila, Phyllis Ocran; Biritwum, Richard B.; Babar, Zaheer Ud-Din

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0279817

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 30 publications

(63 reference statements)

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“…Common treatment choices encompass chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy and surgery. The current treatment options for cancer are often constrained by various factors, such as side effects, limited effectiveness, high costs, increased risks, and unavailability in certain regions or countries (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9). There is a growing need for alternative treatments that can target cancer cells more specifically and with fewer or no side effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The power of phages: revolutionizing cancer treatment

Islam,

Fan,

Pan

2023

Front. Oncol.

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Cancer is a devastating disease with a high global mortality rate and is projected to increase further in the coming years. Current treatment options, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, have limitations including side effects, variable effectiveness, high costs, and limited availability. There is a growing need for alternative treatments that can target cancer cells specifically with fewer side effects. Phages, that infect bacteria but not eukaryotic cells, have emerged as promising cancer therapeutics due to their unique properties, including specificity and ease of genetic modification. Engineered phages can transform cancer treatment by targeting cancer cells while sparing healthy ones. Phages exhibit versatility as nanocarriers, capable of delivering therapeutic agents like gene therapy, immunotherapy, and vaccines. Phages are extensively used in vaccine development, with filamentous, tailed, and icosahedral phages explored for different antigen expression possibilities. Engineered filamentous phages bring benefits such as built in adjuvant properties, cost-effectiveness, versatility in multivalent formulations, feasibility of oral administration, and stability. Phage-based vaccines stimulate the innate immune system by engaging pattern recognition receptors on antigen-presenting cells, enhancing phage peptide antigen presentation to B-cells and T-cells. This review presents recent phage therapy advances and challenges in cancer therapy, exploring its versatile tools and vaccine potential.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The power of phages: revolutionizing cancer treatment

Islam,

Fan,

Pan

2023

Front. Oncol.

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The financial burden of noncommunicable diseases from out-of-pocket expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review

Odunyemi,

Islam,

Alam

2024

Health Promotion International

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The growing financial burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) hinders the attainment of the sustainable development goals. However, there has been no updated synthesis of evidence in this regard. Therefore, our study summarizes the current evidence in the literature and identifies the gaps. We systematically search relevant databases (PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest) between 2015 and 2023, focusing on empirical studies on NCDs and their financial burden indicators, namely, catastrophic health expenditure (CHE), impoverishment, coping strategies, crowding-out effects and unmet needs for financial reasons (UNFRs) in SSA. We examined the distribution of the indicators, their magnitudes, methodological approaches and the depth of analysis. The 71 included studies mostly came from single-country (n = 64), facility-based (n = 52) research in low-income (n = 22), lower-middle-income (n = 47) and upper-middle-income (n = 10) countries in SSA. Approximately 50% of the countries lacked studies (n = 25), with 46% coming from West Africa. Cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes were the most commonly studied NCDs, with cancer and CVD causing the most financial burden. The review revealed methodological deficiencies related to lack of depth, equity analysis and robustness. CHE was high (up to 95.2%) in lower-middle-income countries but low in low-income and upper-middle-income countries. UNFR was almost 100% in both low-income and lower-middle-income countries. The use of extreme coping strategies was most common in low-income countries. There are no studies on crowding-out effect and pandemic-related UNFR. This study underscores the importance of expanded research that refines the methodological estimation of the financial burden of NCDs in SSA for equity implications and policy recommendations.

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A critical review and analysis of the context, current burden, and application of policy to improve cancer equity in Ghana

Tuck,

Cooper,

Aryeetey

et al. 2023

Int J Equity Health

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Background Cancer causes a major disease burden worldwide. This is increasingly being realised in low and middle-income countries, which account disproportionately for preventable cancer deaths. Despite the World Health Organization calling for governments to develop policies to address this and alleviate cancer inequality, numerous challenges in executing effective cancer policies remain, which require consideration of the country-specific context. As this has not yet been considered in Ghana, the aim of this review was to bring together and critique the social-environmental, health policy and system factors to identifying opportunities for future health policies to reduce cancer burden in the Ghanian context. A critical policy-focused review was conducted to bring together and critique the current health systems context relating to cancer in Ghana, considering the unmet policy need, health system and social factors contributing to the burden and policy advances related to cancer. Conclusion The findings highlight the changing burden of cancer in Ghana and the contextual factors within the socio-ecosystem that contribute to this. Policies around expanding access to and coverage of services, as well as the harmonization with medical pluralism have potential to improve outcomes and increase equity but their implementation and robust data to monitor their impact pose significant barriers.

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A comprehensive survey of cancer medicines prices, availability and affordability in Ghana

Cited by 3 publications

References 30 publications

The power of phages: revolutionizing cancer treatment

The power of phages: revolutionizing cancer treatment

The financial burden of noncommunicable diseases from out-of-pocket expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review

A critical review and analysis of the context, current burden, and application of policy to improve cancer equity in Ghana

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