Establishing Cancer Treatment Programs in Resource-Limited Settings: Lessons Learned From Guatemala, Rwanda, and Vietnam

PurposeThe global burden of cancer is slated to reach 21.4 million new cases in 2030 alone, and the majority of those cases occur in under-resourced settings. Formidable changes to health care delivery systems must occur to meet this demand. Although significant policy advances have been made and documented at the international level, less is known about the efforts to create national systems to combat cancer in such settings.MethodsWith case reports and data from authors who are clinicians and policymakers in three financially constrained countries in different regions of the world—Guatemala, Rwanda, and Vietnam, we examined cancer care programs to identify principles that lead to robust care delivery platforms as well as challenges faced in each setting.ResultsThe findings demonstrate that successful programs derive from equitably constructed and durable interventions focused on advancement of local clinical capacity and the prioritization of geographic and financial accessibility. In addition, a commit...