Cancer Drug Shortages Worsen as US Total Holds at 225

Cancer drug shortages are getting worse. In its third-quarter report, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) found that chemotherapy shortages increased even as the overall count of active U.S. drug shortages held steady at 225, according to Becker's Hospital Review.

That steady headline number masks the real pressure. Oncology remains one of the most persistent and dangerous shortage categories, and when a chemotherapy agent runs short, clinicians have few clean substitutes. In practice, that means hospitals and cancer centers ration supply, delay or alter regimens, and lean on their pharmacy teams to hunt down alternatives, all of which carries real risk for patients whose treatment windows are tight.

The persistence of these shortages points to deeper structural problems in the generic injectable supply chain, including thin margins, concentrated manufacturing, and limited visibility into disruptions. For hospital leaders, the takeaway is that shortage management is now a permanent operational discipline, not an occasional emergency.