International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) shared a post on LinkedIn about a paper by Guillermo Chantada et al. published in Cancer Research:
“New SIOP Publication – Strengthening Childhood Cancer Research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
At SIOP, we are proud to share our latest publication, which highlights the early-impact results of the Programme for Advancing Research Capacity (PARC) – our flagship initiative to build sustainable, locally led paediatric oncology research networks in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Key takeaways from the paper:
- We document the successful establishment and formalization of cooperative research groups in regions including Latin America, Africa, and India, with legal governance structures now in place.
- Recruitment and training of dedicated research staff (including data managers and clinical research coordinators), strengthening the backbone of local research.
- Development and deployment of secure, context-adapted data platforms, enabling high-quality data capture for real-world clinical research.
- Implementation of pragmatic, locally relevant clinical protocols, tailored to resource-constrained settings yet aligned with international best practices.
- Strategies to navigate regulatory and administrative barriers, ensuring trial feasibility and sustainability.
In the publication, we emphasize that these investments are not short-term fixes: rather, they lay the foundation for long-term, self-sustaining research capacity that is owned and run by local pediatric oncology communities.
Why this matters:
Globally, over 90% of children with cancer reside in LMICs – but less than 10% of published childhood cancer research comes from these settings.
By building research infrastructure locally, PARC empowers clinicians and researchers to generate evidence that is relevant to their patient populations, accelerating improvements in survival and care delivery.
This capacity-building model can serve as a scalable blueprint for other global health domains seeking to reduce inequities.
What’s next:
Our next phase of PARC will increasingly bring in patients and civil society as active partners, ensuring research priorities are truly aligned with the needs and experiences of children, families, and communities. We will also expand our fundraising efforts to maintain and grow these research groups independently.
We invite our network-policymakers, funders, global health advocates, and paediatric oncology practitioners-to read, share, and engage with this research. Together, we can drive equitable childhood cancer outcomes worldwide.
Read the complete 2025 Cancer Control Online Issue.
To partner with PARC or learn more.”
Title: The impact of the SIOP Programme for advancing research capacity on global childhood cancer research
Authors: Guillermo Chantada, Milena Villarroel, Trijn Israels, Ramandeep Singh Arora, Tzvetomira Laub, Carl E Allen, and Kathy Pritchard-Jones
You can read the Full Article in Cancer Research.
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