Priorities for cancer research in low- and middle-income countries: a global perspective

In a new article, Dr Elisabete Weiderpass, Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and researchers from partner institutions identify five priorities for cancer research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), on the basis of current and projected needs. The article was published in the journal Nature Medicine.

By 2030, approximately three quarters of all cancer deaths will occur in LMICs. In addition, most of the projected increase in the global cancer burden in the next 50 years will occur in LMICs. Despite this, cancer research is currently conducted overwhelmingly in high-income countries, with little regard for the limited transferability of knowledge gained in high-income countries to health systems and populations in LMICs.

Dr Weiderpass and her research colleagues identified the following as priority areas of focus in LMICs: (i) reducing the burden of patients diagnosed with advanced-stage cancers; (ii) improving the access to, affordability of, and outcomes of cancer treatment; (iii) value-based care and health economics; (iv) quality improvement and implementation research; and (v) leveraging technology to improve cancer control.

Successfully acting on these priorities will require collaboration and commitment from governments, policy-makers, funding agencies, and health-care organizations, and from leaders, researchers, and the general public working together to promote cancer research in LMICs.

Pramesh CS, Badwe RA, Bhoo-Pathy N, Booth CM, Chinnaswamy G, Dare AJ, et al.
Priorities for cancer research in low- and middle-income countries: a global perspective
Nat Med, Published online 19 April 2022;
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01738-x

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