Chong Soon Cien, Rajah Retha, Chow Poh Lee, Tan Hsio Ching, Chong Chin Man, Khor Kar Yee, Lee Wan Ping, Tan Wan Ying
Pharmacy Department, Penang General Hospital, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.
Pharmacy Department, Seberang Jaya Hospital, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.
J Oncol Pharm Pract. 2022 Jun 13:10781552221104773. doi: 10.1177/10781552221104773.
Biosimilars confer significant cost-saving advantages and expand patients' access to biologic therapies in cancer care. In line with the increasing availability of antineoplastic biosimilars, it is pertinent to understand the oncologists' view on the adoption of biosimilars in their clinical practice. The study aimed to assess (i) the prevalence of biosimilar use, (ii) perception towards biosimilars, (iii) factors influencing the use of biosimilars and (iv) knowledge about biosimilars among Malaysian oncologists.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among clinical oncologists and medical oncologists in Malaysia between January 2020 and February 2021 using a structured 31-item questionnaire.
Among the 121 oncologists registered in the country, 36 responded (response rate = 30%). A total of 64% of the respondents prescribed biosimilars either often or always. Most oncologists (72%) agreed or strongly agreed that switching will not have a significant effect on the treatment benefit, with lower percentages saying that they agreed or strongly agreed that it will not lead to the emergence of additional adverse effects (56%) or harmful immunogenicity (64%). Patients' preferences (40%) and the non-availability of biosimilars in hospitals (34%) are the major barriers cited to the prescribing of biosimilars. Cost differences and robust pharmacovigilance activities are the two most important factors that would influence the prescribing of biosimilars. The mean score of knowledge in biosimilar among respondents was 3.81 (± 0.86) out of a maximum possible score of 6.
The identified gap in prescribing and the use of biosimilars among Malaysian oncologists warrant educational intervention and robust pharmacovigilance activities to facilitate the prescribing of biosimilars and ultimately increase the accessibility to biologics in cancer treatment.
生物类似药具有显著的成本节约优势，并扩大了癌症治疗中患者获得生物疗法的机会。随着抗肿瘤生物类似药的可及性不断提高，了解肿瘤学家在临床实践中对采用生物类似药的看法变得至关重要。本研究旨在评估：（i）生物类似药的使用普及率；（ii）对生物类似药的认知；（iii）影响生物类似药使用的因素；以及（iv）马来西亚肿瘤学家对生物类似药的了解程度。
2020年1月至2021年2月期间，使用一份包含31个条目的结构化问卷，对马来西亚的临床肿瘤学家和医学肿瘤学家进行了横断面调查。
在该国注册的121名肿瘤学家中，36人做出了回应（回应率 = 30%）。共有64%的受访者经常或总是开具生物类似药。大多数肿瘤学家（72%）同意或强烈同意换药对治疗效果不会有显著影响，而表示同意或强烈同意换药不会导致额外不良反应（56%）或有害免疫原性（64%）的比例较低。患者的偏好（40%）和医院中生物类似药供应不足（34%）是开具生物类似药时提到的主要障碍。成本差异和强有力的药物警戒活动是影响生物类似药处方的两个最重要因素。受访者在生物类似药知识方面的平均得分在满分6分中为3.81（±0.86）。
马来西亚肿瘤学家在生物类似药处方和使用方面存在的差距，需要进行教育干预和强有力的药物警戒活动，以促进生物类似药的处方开具，并最终提高癌症治疗中生物制剂的可及性。
