Ahmed Elzawawy
Professor Ahmed Elzawawy, Egypt.- Chair of the Harvard Global Health Catalyst Win-Win scientific initiative ( An International Scientific initiative that aims at increasing affordability of better value cancer treatment in the world) www.icedoc.net/winwin.htm
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a brain storming proposal is presented to save the expenses paid by
pharmaceuticals and radiotherapy manufactures for the travels of
oncologists from LMICs to attend international conferences. The
saved sum could be one of resources to increase cancer care services
in some underserved regions.
a brain storming proposal is presented to save the expenses paid by
pharmaceuticals and radiotherapy manufactures for the travels of
oncologists from LMICs to attend international conferences. The
saved sum could be one of resources to increase cancer care services
in some underserved regions.
There are no indications that the costs of the novel cancer drugs and radiotherapy of cancer and the incidence and prevalence of cancer will stop increasing in the next decade. Hence, there would be more difficulties and challenges for patients, families, governments, physicians, manufacturers of cancer drugs and radiotherapy equipment, particularly in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). However, there are also increasing concerns in affluent countries and the USA about the increasing costs of cancer therapy. Starting from December 2007, with communications, publications and working meetings, the win-win
initiative was proposed by ICEDOC’s Experts in Cancer without Borders (ICEDOC: is the International Campaign for Establishment and Development of Oncology Centers www.icedoc.org). The win-win initiative stress on the scientific approaches and in considering stakeholders in win-win scenarios in which no one would lose. Our concerns is to lower the total costs (not necessarily the price of a drug or an equipment), to flourish the system and save it from risk of collapse. In this chapter, we reviewed examples of the recently published scientific works that could lead to lower the overall costs of breast cancer radiotherapy and systemic chemotherapy and hormonal treatment without compromising patients' outcomes. It is presented as a model, to be expanded to other cancers. The cited approaches, with our views, are not presented as wholly inclusive or definitive solutions but are offered as effective examples and as stimuli to hopefully inspire the development of more evidence based management approaches that provide cost effective and more
affordable cancer treatment. We recommend to adopt win-win scenarios and to create what Franklin D Roosevelt described as “A Brain Trust” opened for innovative scientific thoughts, ideas and strategies, to foster relevant scientific researches and collaboration that would aim at achieving cost-effective and accessible cancer treatment for more millions of patients with cancers in the world. The win-win initiative is an open movement and it is inspired from the works and publications of many scientists. We don’t claim patency. The key leaders of international oncology community and organizations are sharing in the
development of the initiative and its working meetings. Hence, it is a concept and an approach that we call all for cooperation for its wide dissemination, to be adopted and to be owned by all who are concerned in the upcoming years. We emphasize on the importance of
considering the broad sense for the term science and not to be taken as just to copy the imported protocols or guidelines of treatment. Hence, scientific cooperation, exchange of experiences, customized clinical trials and treatment that respect the realistic biological, human, social and economic conditions, cost -effectiveness, quality of life cost -utility and
adapted to each community are recommended. Despite that, the motivation of this initiative is largely humanitarian, but it is based on scientifically derived evidence and reflects ‘win-win’ scenarios for global cancer management.