Patients’ Access to Advanced Cancer Therapies: Ethics and Equity of Access

Dr. Aisling McMahon

Dr. Aisling McMahon, Maynooth University was awarded and Irish Research council New Foundations with Breakthrough Cancer Research as partner.

This project uses expert interviews and doctrinal research to investigate the legal and ethical issues around delivering access to advanced cancer therapies, focusing on Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell Immunotherapy (CAR-T).

CAR-T therapy involves isolating a patient’s T-cells, which are engineered to attack the patient’s cancer cells when placed back into the body. It offers immense potential for cancer-care, and where successful can lead to full remission of cancer.

However, CAR-T therapy can also pose risks of life-threatening side-effects in some cases, and careful choices around who would benefit from access to such therapies are needed. Furthermore, due to the costs of CAR-T therapy it is not currently accessible to all patients. This project examines the legal and ethical issues around the provision of and access to CAR-T therapies for patients.

The Access and Provision of CAR-T Therapies in Ireland for Cancer Care Report was launched in October 2023

You can read the report here Access to CAR-T Therapies in Ireland: Legal, Ethical & Broader Policy Considerations (maynoothuniversity.ie)

 

RESEARCH FINDINGS

Publications

A. McMahon, A. Kells and S. Masterson. The Transformative Potential of CAR-T Therapies: Need for Deeper Consideration of Ethics & Equity of Access for Patients. J Medical Ethics, March 2024. The Transformative Potential of CAR-T Therapies: Need for Deeper Consideration of Ethics & Equity of Access for Patients – Journal of Medical Ethics blog (bmj.com)

 

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Start year
2021
End year
2021
Principal Investigator
Dr. Aisling McMahon
Institution
Maynooth University
Grant Funding
IRC New Foundations Scheme in partnership with Breakthrough Cancer Research
Linked Breakthrough Research Priorities
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Improve integration of cancer research into cancer care in Ireland and increase clinical capacity by prioritising funding for projects and programmes with significant clinical engagement.

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Invest in research-led innovation at every stage of the cancer patient journey from first diagnosis through to treatment, clinical trials and palliative care to improve survival and quality of life.