Access to high-cost drugs for advanced breast cancer in Latin America, particularly trastuzumab.

Access to high-cost drugs for advanced breast cancer in Latin America, particularly trastuzumab. Ecancermedicalscience. 2019;13:898 Authors: Barrios CH, Reinert T, Werutsky G Abstract Provision of high-level healthcare is a challenge for all low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) since healthcare systems are heterogeneous, face many challenges such as inadequate funding, inequitable distribution of resources and services and usually are not adequately equipped to deal with a huge problem such as breast cancer. The development of anti-HER2 therapies can be considered one of the most important examples of the translation of molecular biology knowledge into clinical benefits for cancer patients. While a variety of novel therapeutic strategies are emerging, current treatment regimens remain focussed on targeted therapy with monoclonal antibodies, mainly trastuzumab, the first agent developed in this field. While these results have revolutionised the outcome of HER2+ patients in clinical trials and in high-income countries where they are widely available, results have not impacted the natural history of this aggressive disease in most of the world. Unfortunately, the availability of these drugs is far from universal in many LMICs, and in Latin America, in particular, patients with HER2+ breast cancer are treated exclusively with standard chemotherapy, a more toxic and less efficient therapy. While the complexity of the situation and the ...
Source: Ecancermedicalscience - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Ecancermedicalscience Source Type: research