Cancer control in Latin America and the Caribbean: Recent advances and opportunities to move forward

Authors

• Carlos H. Barrios, Oncology Department, Oncoclinicas Group, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group (LACOG), Porto Alegre, Brazil. Electronic address: barrios@tummi.org.
• Gustavo Werutsky, Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group (LACOG), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
• Alejandro Mohar, Unidad de Epidemiología, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
• Ana S. Ferrigno, Breast Cancer Center, Hospital Zambrano Hellion TecSalud, Tecnologico de Monterrey, San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo León, Mexico.
• Bettina G. Müller, Department of Medical Oncology, Instituto Nacional del Cáncer, Santiago, Chile.
• Brittany L. Bychkovsky, Division of Cancer Genetics and Prevention, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
• Carlos José Castro E, Liga Colombiana Contra el Cáncer, Bogota, Colombia.
• Claudia J. Uribe, Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga, Bucaramanga, Colombia.
• Cynthia Villarreal-Garza, Breast Cancer Center, Hospital Zambrano Hellion TecSalud, Tecnologico de Monterrey, San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo León, Mexico.
• Enrique Soto-Perez-de-Celis, Department of Geriatrics, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubiran, Mexico City, Mexico.
• Francisco Gutiérrez-Delgado, Centro de Estudios y Prevención del Cancer Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México; Latin American School of Oncology (ELO), México City, México.
• Ji Seok Kim, Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Dewpoint Therapeutics, Boston, MA, USA.
• Julia Ismael, Gedyt Foundation, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Lucia Delgado, Faculty of Medicine, University of Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; Honorary Commission for the Fight Against Cancer, Montevideo, Uruguay.
• Luiz A. Santini, Center of Strategic Studies of FIOCRUZ (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Nelson Teich, Teich Health Care Consulting, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Pamela C. Chavez, Advocate Aurora HealthFollow
• Pedro E. Liedke, Oncology Department, Oncoclinicas Group, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group (LACOG), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Department of Oncology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Unidade de Pesquisa Clínica em Oncologia, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
• Pedro Exman, Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz, São Paulo, Brazil.
• Romualdo Barroso-Sousa, Department of Oncology, Hospital Sírio-Libanês, Brasília, Brazil.
• Stephen D. Stefani, Oncology Department, Oncoclinicas Group, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
• Suyapa A. Cáceres, Medicine Universidad Católica de Honduras, San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Department of Clinical Oncology, Liga Contra el Cáncer, San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
• Taiane F. Rebelatto, Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group (LACOG), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
• Tania Pastrana, Department of Palliative Medicine, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
• Yanin Chavarri-Guerra, Department of Hemato-Oncology, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubiran, Mexico City, Mexico.
• Yolanda Vargas, Unidad de Cuidados Paliativos y Clínica de Alivio del Dolor Oncológico, Instituto Oncológico Nacional, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá.
• Eduardo Cazap, Latin American and Caribbean Society of Medical Oncology (SLACOM), Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Recommended Citation

Barrios CH, Werutsky G, Mohar A, et al. Cancer control in Latin America and the Caribbean: recent advances and opportunities to move forward. Lancet Oncol. 2021;22(11):e474-e487. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00492-7

Affiliations

Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center

Abstract

The increasing burden of cancer represents a substantial problem for Latin America and the Caribbean. Two Lancet Oncology Commissions in 2013 and 2015 highlighted potential interventions that could advance cancer care in the region by overcoming existing challenges. Areas requiring improvement included insufficient investment in cancer control, non-universal health coverage, fragmented health systems, inequitable concentration of cancer services, inadequate registries, delays in diagnosis or treatment initiation, and insufficient palliative services. Progress has been made in key areas but remains uneven across the region. An unforeseen challenge, the COVID-19 pandemic, strained all resources, and its negative effect on cancer control is expected to continue for years. In this Series paper, we summarise progress in several aspects of cancer control since 2015, and identify persistent barriers requiring commitment of additional resources to reduce the cancer burden in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Document Type

Article

PubMed ID

34735817