Some cancer drugs, especially biologics and immunotherapies, should be kept refrigerated from the time of manufacture up to their administration to a patient. Storing these molecular proteins under the wrong temperature could render them ineffective in fighting cancer cells, or they could be rejected by the patient’s immune system.

When a batch of cancer drugs worth about HK$400,000 was left in an air-conditioned room for around 20 hours at the Sir Yue-kong Pao Cancer Centre of Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin, Hong Kong, its officials decided to impose disciplinary action against the erring staff, The Standard (TS) reported.

A pharmacy support worker and a dispensing pharmacist reportedly had a miscommunication and left the cancer drugs unrefrigerated, according to TS.

The manufacturer, though, assured that keeping the drugs in an air-conditioned environment for about 20 hours was within acceptable limits, TS reported.

Meanwhile, a new cooling appliance has hit the Japanese market as the country recently experienced a heat wave.

Called the Do Hiemon Box, it is intended to help prevent heatstroke in people sensitive to hot weather.

Trusco Nakayama has sold 200 units of the oversized stainless steel refrigerator to steel mills, construction sites, golf courses, universities, leisure facilities and earthquake evacuation centers since it went on sale earlier this year, The Japan Times (TJT) reported.

Trusco’s contraption, effectively a tall box on wheels with a window and a bench that plugs into a standard electrical outlet, is meant to be used in places without easy access to air conditioning, according to TJT.

The Do Hiemon Box keeps the temperature at 15 degrees Celsius and blows jets of 5-degree Celsius air when a person sits in it, TJT reported.

The “human refrigerator” is designed to give quick relief from potential heat exhaustion or heatstroke rather than as a lounge to sit back in and relax, according to TJT.