Tumor-Agnostic Therapies: Translating Scientific Breakthroughs Into Global Implementation - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #tumor-agnostic therapies
- #global health implementation
- #precision medicine
- Tumor-agnostic therapies, approved based on molecular biomarkers rather than tumor origin, represent a shift in cancer treatment toward precision medicine.
- Since 2017, nine tumor-agnostic drugs have been approved, starting with pembrolizumab, providing new options for patients with rare cancers and genomic alterations.
- Global implementation faces challenges, with access inconsistent even in high-resource settings; fewer than 50% of eligible patients receive these therapies.
- Regulatory barriers include centralized approval in Europe contrasting with fragmented reimbursement, causing delays, while Asia-Pacific has rapid growth but urban-rural disparities.
- Regions like Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East struggle with limited testing infrastructure, workforce shortages, and competing healthcare priorities.
- A four-pillar framework is proposed for equitable implementation: biomarker testing, innovative trials, harmonized approval and reimbursement, and workforce development.
- International efforts like Project Orbis and cross-border trials show promise for regulatory convergence and bridging the gap between innovation and accessibility.