Patient groups are calling for changes to fast track the approval and subsidy of cancer medicines, saying cancer sufferers haven't got time to wait for duplicate testing.

Consumer group Cancer Voices Australia has told a Senate inquiry that changes were needed to ensure Australians with cancer got the drugs they needed in a timely manner.

"Many of us can't wait for the years that our present approval process takes, nor can we afford to pay the full unsubsidised costs," the organisation's convenor, Sally Crossing, writes in its submission.

The group suggests Australia make greater use of approvals by trusted foreign regulators to speed up access to medicines, and also improve surveillance of drugs once after they have reached the market, to enable assessment of the effectiveness of drugs in real life use, as opposed to clinical trials.

For more details, go to: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/drug-companies-and-patient-groups-want-faster-approval-for-cancer-drugs-20150420-1mp5im.html