Antonio Lázaro Sánchez, Consultant Medical Oncologist at Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca, shared on LinkedIn:
“Are we moving toward better oncology, or simply toward more complex oncology?
In recent months, I’ve had the opportunity to contribute, alongside excellent colleagues and collaborators, to several publications focused on an aspect of oncology that I consider fundamental and that is sometimes overshadowed by pharmacological advances: health policy, equity, and the true value of cancer care.
I’d like to share these works with the community because I believe they raise questions that deserve collective reflection.
- Are we measuring progress in oncology based on what truly matters to patients?
- To what extent does where a person lives determine their opportunities to access clinical research?
- Can we organize our healthcare systems to reduce these inequalities?
The articles address these issues from complementary perspectives:
Oncology with common sense: beyond biologistic and pharmacological models – Ecancer
A reflection on the need to move beyond an exclusively biological and pharmacological view of cancer, restoring the central role of quality of life, prevention, social determinants, and meaningful clinical benefit.
Geographic access as a modifiable determinant of cancer care – Clinical and Translational Oncology
We examine how the geographical organization of services, travel, and the time patients spend receiving health care can become modifiable barriers.
Geographic equity in oncology clinical trials in Spain: fragmentation, indicators, and evidence – Clinical and Translational Oncology
A reflection on the territorial fragmentation of clinical research in Spain and the need for indicators to assess and improve equity in access.
Territorial inequality in oncology clinical trial participation and its ecological association with cancer mortality in Spain – Journal of Cancer Policy
An analysis of regional differences in participation in cancer clinical trials in Spain and their ecological association with cancer mortality, without implying causality.
Access to cancer clinical trials in Europe: when trial availability does not match patient need – ESMO Open
A European Perspective on the Discrepancy Between the Availability of Clinical Trials and Patients’ Actual Needs.
Innovation in oncology should not be measured solely by the treatments we are able to develop, but also by our ability to ensure that their benefits reach those who need them.
My thanks to all my colleagues and collaborators who have contributed to these works. I hope they will serve to foster a shared reflection on how to build a more equitable, sustainable, and patient-centered field of oncology.”
Title: Territorial inequality in oncology clinical trial participation and its ecological association with cancer mortality in Spain
Authors: Antonio David Lázaro-Sánchez, Mahsa Fayaz Dastgerdi, Alvaro Rodríguez-Lescure, Jose Luis Alonso Romero, Alejandro Moya-Martínez, Ana Isabel Martín Quesada, Jesús García-Foncillas, Belén Fernández-Molina, Alicia de Luna Aguilar, Bishal Gyawali, Javier-David Benítez-Fuentes.
Title: Access to cancer clinical trials in Europe: when trial availability does not match patient need
Authors: A.D. Lázaro Sánchez, J.D. Benitez-Fuentes, L.-A. Teuwen, E. Baloyan, J.L. Alonso Romero, A. Rodriguez-Lescure, D. Lacombe, W.T.A. van der Graaf, B. Gyawali.
Other articles about Antonio Lázaro Sánchez on OncoDaily.