Posted by Michael Wonder on 09 Nov 2019
Lack of DHB testing means lung cancer patients could be missing out on life-prolonging drugs
9 November 2019 - New Zealanders with lung cancer could be missing out on a life-prolonging drug because of a discrepancy in cancer screenings between district health boards.
An oncologist has told 1 NEWS some regions have not been automatically testing for a specific mutation of the cancer, the ALK biomarker, because its treatment has not been funded in the past and was too costly for many to consider.
About 150 patients a year are diagnosed with the mutation.
