Advanced Breast Cancer Guidelines in Latin America: Assessment, Adaptation, and Implementation of Fifth Advanced Breast Cancer Consensus Guidelines.

PURPOSE: As the fifth international consensus on advanced breast cancer (ABC5) established guidelines for the management of this disease, the aim of this article was to present the applicability of the consensus recommendations and to generate knowledge to improve access. METHODS: Sixty-one recommendation statements were selected and discussed by 15 breast cancer experts from Latin America (LA). After the discussion, the level of consensus was determined through a vote. In addition to this, the level of access to each of the recommendations presented, according to the country and health system, was exposed. RESULTS: Latin American experts had a high level of agreement with the ABC5 consensus recommendations (range, 83%-100%). Twelve of 61 statements are not available for all patients in LA. Among the limitations to access, the following ones are described: limited access to certain technologies (stereotactic body radiotherapy, positron emission tomography-computed tomography), the high costs of drugs that limits access to treatment with CDK4/6 inhibitors, pertuzumab, or poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors, and the lack of molecular tests for access to therapeutic targets, as well as the difficult geography and cultural diversity of our continent. CONCLUSION: Despite the great relevance of the recommendations of the ABC5 consensus guidelines, we highlight that we still need to improve access for all patients, regardless of the country or health system they are in, for which we call to action to policy makers and patient groups to improve clinical outcomes of patients with advanced breast cancer in our region.

ABC4 Consensus: First Latin American Meeting-Assessment, Comments, and Application of Its Recommendations.

Breast cancer accounts for a high burden among all the neoplasms in Latin America, with more-advanced stages at presentation, which could result in high mortality rates. The 4th International Consensus Conference for Advanced Breast Cancer (ABC4) is focused on standardizing therapy for advanced breast cancer (ABC) and has held 5 meetings so far. ABC4 took place in Lisbon, Portugal, from November 2 to 4, 2017; however, the first Latin American ABC conference was held in Lima, Peru, from 18 to 19 May, 2018, chaired by Fatima Cardoso, MD, PhD. During these 2 days, the ABC4 consensus recommendations for advanced and locally advanced breast cancer were presented. Local treatment and systemic therapy were discussed with local experts, mainly focusing on anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 therapy and newly approved drugs for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, such as as CDK4/6, mammalian target of rapamycin, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors for triple-negative breast cancer. The discussion focused additionally on access to drugs and ABC4 consensus recommendations as regards Latin American patients.