Antonio Lázaro Sánchez, Consultant Medical Oncologist at Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Imagine two patients with the same cancer diagnosis. Same age, same tumour, same stage. One lives in Madrid. The other, in La Rioja.
The first has access to dozens of ongoing clinical trials. The second, practically none.
This is not a hypothetical scenario. It is the current reality of the Spanish cancer research system, and we have just documented it in an article published in Clinical and Translational Oncology.
When analyzing data from the REec and the AECC observatory, we found a marked geographical concentration: two autonomous communities account for over 40% of trials, whilst participation per capita varies by up to 200-fold between regions.
What strikes us most is not just the inequality itself, but that there is no epidemiological reason to justify it. The regions with the highest cancer mortality rates are not necessarily those with the most trials. The determining factor appears to be where research infrastructure has historically been established, not where the need is greatest.
Structural measures are needed: investment in research capacity outside major centres, inter-institutional referral systems, public and systematic monitoring, and a genuine national cancer research network.
Oncological innovation cannot be a geographical privilege.
What do you think? How is this reality experienced in your centres or in under-represented communities?”
Javier David Benitez Fuentes, Consultant Medical Oncologist at Hospital General Universitario de Elche, shared this post, adding:
“It was great to collaborate in this work with Antonio Lázaro Sánchez. More on this topic coming in the following months with Bishal Gyawali.”
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