National Comprehensive Cancer Network Working with Health Officials in Bolivia to Improve Cancer Care

Nonprofit alliance to adapt NCCN Guidelines® for Breast, Cervical, and Rectal Cancer to better meet cancer burden and resource levels in Bolivia

News provided by

National Comprehensive Cancer Network

Apr 24, 2019, 08:30 ET

LA PAZ, Bolivia, April 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Representatives from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®)—an alliance of 28 top academic cancer centers in the United States—meet today with health leaders in The Plurinational State of Bolivia to begin generating cancer treatment recommendations to fit the country's unique needs. These new national guidelines will be based on the NCCN Framework for Resource Stratification of NCCN Guidelines (NCCN Framework™), which are themselves based on the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines^®). These versions will be translated into Spanish and will be the first to be adapted to the specific cancer care circumstances in Bolivia.

"The NCCN Guidelines are the most widely used cancer treatment guidelines in Bolivia; now they will be even more accessible and appropriate for optimizing treatment practices across the country," said Robert W. Carlson, MD, Chief Executive Officer, NCCN. "Working with local experts allows us to customize our evidence- and expert-consensus-based recommendations to reflect different levels of resource availability in Bolivia. We are also able to target the areas of greatest need for this population. These types of collaborative projects are crucial to our mission to define and advance high-quality, high-value, patient-centered cancer care all over the world."

The Bolivian adaptations of NCCN Framework™ will join a growing number of Adaptations & Translations, NCCN Harmonized Guidelines™, and other resources designed for use outside of the United States. They are all available to view or download for free at NCCN.org, or via the Virtual Library of NCCN Guidelines^® App for smartphone and tablet.

The first three Bolivian adaptations will focus on breast, cervical, and rectal cancers, based on the highest incidences and most need for the region. NCCN plans to address additional cancer types in future editions.

The delegation from NCCN includes CEO Dr. Carlson, as well as Chief Medical Officer Wui-Jin Koh, MD, former Chair of the NCCN Guidelines Panel for Cervical Cancer. William J. Gradishar, MD, and Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP, FASCO, both from Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, and current Chairs of the NCCN Guidelines Panels for Breast and Rectal Cancer, respectively, round out the group.

"We know different regions of the world have different needs when it comes to cancer care guidelines," explained Dr. Koh. "At NCCN, we have recently placed an increasing focus on low- and-middle-income countries to make sure we are doing everything we can to improve standards for cancer care delivery and elevate outcomes for everybody."

This work is possible thanks to the organization and funding of PROMIS Bolivia, with generous support from Northwestern Medicine's Global Health Initiative and the Lurie Cancer Center. PROMIS Bolivia is a charitable foundation whose mission is to adapt, disseminate and implement state-of-the-science, international health care interventions throughout Bolivia in order to maximize the health outcomes of patients and their families.

"This collaboration is an important step forward for cancer care in Bolivia," said Steven J. Schuetz, MD, chief surgical resident at Northwestern Medicine and founder of PROMIS Bolivia. "Cancer care in Bolivia remains geographically and financially inaccessible to a large proportion of the population, with high rates of medical impoverishment and early termination of treatment. The development of NCCN resource-stratified cancer guidelines adapted to the Bolivian healthcare system will allow every cancer patient in Bolivia—regardless of socioeconomic status—to be provided evidence-based cancer care that promotes treatment completion, minimizes impoverishment and results in better outcomes for the patient and their family."

For more information about NCCN's global work to improve and standardize cancer care practices worldwide, visit NCCN.org/global, and join the conversation online with the hashtag #NCCNGlobal.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®) is a not-for-profit alliance of 28 leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education. NCCN is dedicated to improving and facilitating quality, effective, efficient, and accessible cancer care so patients can live better lives. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. By defining and advancing high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers around the world.

The NCCN Member Institutions are: Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, Omaha, NE; Case Comprehensive Cancer Center/University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland, OH; City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center | Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA; Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA; The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ, Jacksonville, FL, and Rochester, MN; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH; Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY; Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN; Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford, CA; University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL; UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA; UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA; University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, CO; University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, WI; Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN; and Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital, New Haven, CT.