At the National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology (INOR), doctors and families fight childhood cancer despite limitations from the economic blockade. Survival rates remain comparable to those in developed countries due to the team's determination. Yet, shortages of medicines and supplies impact daily treatments.
The pediatric oncology ward at the INOR hosts complex cases from across the country, where mothers and fathers travel with their children for care. There, Dr. Mariuska Forteza Sáez, head of the department, states: "We have to reinvent ourselves every day." Despite shortages, no child has been denied treatment due to lack of fuel, according to INOR director Dr. Luis Martínez Rodríguez.
In Cuba, one person dies of cancer every 20 minutes, and 140 to 150 new cases are diagnosed daily, exceeding 50,000 annually. The most common types are breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. Four out of ten cases could be prevented through lifestyle changes, emphasizes Rodríguez, who notes that activity levels have declined due to shortages of supplies, reagents, spare parts, and fuel.
The institution upholds its missions of care, teaching, and research, with connections via telemedicine and international collaborations with centers in Canada, Spain, Mexico, Russia, Japan, and China. Cancer research in Cuba began in 1974, and in the 1980s, the country developed its first monoclonal antibody. The Center for Molecular Immunology (CIM), established during the Special Period, manufactures 40% of over 90 cancer drugs in the national portfolio.
However, the United States economic blockade restricts access to raw materials, financing, and markets, worsened by Cuba's inclusion on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. This has reduced clinical trials from over 30 to a very small number due to reagent shortages, according to Dr. Elías Gracia Medina, head of the National Oncology Group. The impact extends further: it affects transportation, nutrition, and electricity supply for equipment like oxygen concentrators.
Dr. Carlos Alberto Martínez Blanco, head of the Cancer Control Section at MINSAP, describes these measures as "inhumane and genocidal" that attack the right to life. Despite challenges, the national oncology program endures through professionals' efforts and Cuban biotechnology.
