FDA access to experimental cancer treatments debated

Arguments are being made for the Food and Drug Administration to grant Americans the right to access experimental medical treatments. The discussion highlights cases where patients must travel abroad, such as to London, to receive promising therapies that have not yet been approved for limited or trial use in the United States.

One specific case involves a 19-year-old woman from South Carolina with glioblastoma. After undergoing surgery at UCLA, she utilized a personalized immunotherapy developed by an American company. Because the treatment was not available locally on an experimental basis, her family had to fund international travel and doses out of pocket to access the therapy in Britain.