Brazil Charts a Path for Companion Diagnostics Amid Complex Health System Challenges
An expert panel assessed the barriers to implementing precision medicine and companion diagnostics in Brazil's two-tiered healthcare system. Regulatory hurdles, shortages of trained personnel and laboratory infrastructure, and fragmented coverage were identified as the main obstacles. The proposed path forward · active collaboration between clinicians, industry, and government · offers a model relevant to other emerging economies aiming to adopt molecular diagnostics at scale.
The original study
Brazilian health-care policy for targeted oncology therapies and companion diagnostic testing.
- Authors
- Ferreira CG, Achatz MI, Ashton-Prolla P, Begnami MD, Marchini FK, Stefani SD
- Journal
- The Lancet. Oncology
- Type
- Journal Article, Review
- PMID
- 27511160
Original abstract
A growing understanding of the molecular pathology of tumours combined with a surge of new drugs and associated diagnostic technologies (ie, precision medicine) has translated into substantial improvements in survival for patients with cancer. However, to achieve the promise that precision medicine has to offer will require overcoming hurdles within a national health-care system in which it is to be implemented. Brazil is one such nation, an emerging middle-income country with a very complex health-care system. To address the challenges associated with implementing precision medicine into a country such as Brazil, a group of experts convened (Nov 16-18, 2015, Miami) to discuss challenges related to precision medicine within an oncology setting. Complex regulatory hurdles, a shortage of human and technical resources, and the complexities of a two-tiered health-care delivery system were all identified as the main shortcomings to effectively implementing this new field of medicine. A path forward was proposed that relies on active collaboration between clinicians, private organisations, and government. It seems entirely possible that, despite many intrinsic economic and political problems, Brazil can readily emerge as a model for other countries in Latin America for the potential benefits of precision medicine and companion diagnostics.