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Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer worldwide and is of particular concern for Latin America. Its rising incidence in this area of the world poses myriad challenges for the region's economies, which are already struggling with limited resources to meet the health care needs of low- and middle-income populations. In this environment, we are concerned that regional governments are relatively unaware of the pressing need to implement effective strategies for the near future. Low-dose chest computed tomography (LDCT) for screening, and routine use of minimally invasive techniques for diagnosis and staging remain uncommon. According to results of the National Lung Screening Trial, LDCT lung cancer screening provided a 20% relative reduction in mortality rates among at-risk individuals. Nevertheless, this issue is still a matter of debate, particularly in developing countries, and it is not fully embraced in developing countries. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of what the standard of care is for lung cancer computed tomography screening around the world and to aid understanding of the challenges and potential solutions that can help with the implementation of LDCT in Latin America.

Latin America and the Caribbean have not yet developed strong clinical cancer research programmes. In order to improve this situation two international cancer organisations, the Latin American Society of Clinical Oncology (SLACOM) and the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) worked closely with the Peruvian Cooperative Oncology Group (GECOPERU) and organised a clinical cancer research workshop held in Lima, Peru, in October 2015. Many oncologists from different Latin American countries participated in this gathering. The opportunities for and strengths of clinical oncology research in Latin American and Caribbean countries were identified as the widespread use of the Spanish language, the high cancer burden, growing access to information, improving patient education, access to new drugs for research centres, regional networks and human resources. However, there are still many weaknesses and problems including the long timeline for regulatory approval, lack of economic investment, lack of training and lack of personnel participating in clinical research, lack of cancer registries, insufficient technology and insufficient supplies for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, few cancer specialists, low general levels of education and the negative attitude of government authorities towards clinical research.

Latin America and the Caribbean have not yet developed strong clinical cancer research programmes. In order to improve this situation two international cancer organisations, the Latin American Society of Clinical Oncology (SLACOM) and the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) worked closely with the Peruvian Cooperative Oncology Group (GECOPERU) and organised a clinical cancer research workshop held in Lima, Peru, in October 2015. Many oncologists from different Latin American countries participated in this gathering. The opportunities for and strengths of clinical oncology research in Latin American and Caribbean countries were identified as the widespread use of the Spanish language, the high cancer burden, growing access to information, improving patient education, access to new drugs for research centres, regional networks and human resources. However, there are still many weaknesses and problems including the long timeline for regulatory approval, lack of economic investment, lack of training and lack of personnel participating in clinical research, lack of cancer registries, insufficient technology and insufficient supplies for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, few cancer specialists, low general levels of education and the negative attitude of government authorities towards clinical research. ; (VLID)6083432

Lung cancer is a public health problem worldwide and Latin America (LATAM) cannot escape this reality. This malignant disease has not only a high prevalence in the region, but is also the main cause of cancer related deaths, and in other emerging countries, the incidence rates are still on the rise. Interestingly in most LATAM countries, lung cancer mortality has been decreasing in men but not in women, reflecting smoking patterns in countries such as Chile, Bolivia, and Brazil. Despite the fact that these issues are well known to government agencies, physicians and patients in the region, current efforts still fall behind those needed in order to face this problem of epidemic proportions. Tobacco control and smoking cessation are the most important interventions against lung cancer, but even with their optimal implementation (which is far from reality at this time) the number of cases in the foreseeable future would still be significant. Beyond tobacco control, advances in our understanding of the molecular component of lung cancer have resulted in new targeted therapies and immune check point inhibitors, which have improved clinical outcomes but at a considerably higher financial cost. LATAM has not widely and speedily adopted these strategies, including new technology and approved novel drugs, due to a number of facts, and therefore only a dismal proportion of LATAḾs patient population have benefited from these new advances. A keen focus on a heterogeneous education system for caregivers in lung cancer treatment would likely help standardize care and improve future potential gains from domestic research. In this review we discuss the challenges of treatment implementation, focusing on new technologies.