structure of MTX (PubChem; NCBI)
I was astonished to learn that methotrexate supplies are running short. This chemotherapy may soon be unavailable to patients who need it. And it’s not just kids with leukemia, as the Times story highlights effectively.
Methotrexate is an old, bread-and-butter cancer kind of drug, a basic ingredient in standard regimens for many tumor types. I’ve personally administered this old drug to patients with breast cancer, lymphoma, leukemia, head and neck tumors, ovarian cancer, colon cancer and people whose tumor cells spread to the brain. Doctors prescribe this drug, also, in a few non-malignant conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis.
Methotrexate has been used in cancer wards for over 50 years. And like other beyond-patent meds, it’s become less profitable to manufacture MTX compared to much costlier new agents. Hard to perceive this shortage as anything but a tragedy — that the business of health care renders valuable, inexpensive drugs out of reach.
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