Challenges and opportunities in building a health economic framework for personalized medicine in oncology

Personalized medicine has allowed for knowledge at an individual level for several diseases and this has led to improvements in prevention and treatment of various types of neoplasms. Despite the greater availability of tests, the costs of genomic testing and targeted therapies are still high for most patients, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Although value frameworks and health technology assessment are fundamental to allow decision-making by policymakers, there are several concerns in terms of personalized medicine pharmacoeconomics. A global effort may improve these tools in order to allow access to personalized medicine for an increasing number of patients with cancer.

Automated summary

Personalized medicine has improved prevention and treatment of various types of neoplasms by providing individual-level knowledge. However, the high costs of genomic testing and targeted therapies are still a barrier, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Efforts at a global level are needed to improve access to personalized medicine for more cancer patients.