Brazil's SUS begins offering nine new cancer drugs

The Brazilian Ministry of Health has begun offering nine high-technology cancer drugs through the SUS (Brazil's public health system) in every region of the country.

The new drugs

The nine drugs cover 13 cancer indications, including breast, prostate and lung tumors and lymphomas, and are expected to benefit more than 116,000 people. Many had been incorporated into SUS for more than ten years but were not actually available.

The list includes trastuzumab, abemaciclib, lanreotide acetate, pazopanib, rituximab, abiraterone, gefitinib, thyrotropin alfa (recombinant TSH) and sunitinib. In total, 23 new drugs are planned by the end of the year, expanding treatment options in the public network by 35%.

The treatments can increase survival and improve patients' quality of life. Some are also indicated after surgery, even with no visible sign of a tumor, to prevent the disease from returning.

Where the rollout begins

The rollout begins at 20 treatment centers in 17 states across all regions of the country and should reach the remaining centers by the end of the year. Teams will be trained on a new, more digital and integrated system for requesting, recording and monitoring treatments.

The annual cost of purchasing the nine drugs is R$155.4 million. Including all the measures announced, the impact reaches R$4 billion a year. The initiative is part of the Agora Tem Especialistas program and Oncology Pharmaceutical Care.

Colorectal cancer screening

Starting in November, the Ministry of Health will distribute 400,000 fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) to states for bowel cancer screening in people aged 50 to 75 without symptoms. Rollout in primary care units will be gradual, starting with state capitals and municipalities with more than 500,000 inhabitants.

FIT detects tiny amounts of hidden blood in stool, with accuracy of up to 92%. People with a positive result are referred for colonoscopy, which avoids this exam for those with a negative result.

Other measures

Funding for radioiodine therapy, used to treat thyroid cancer, rises from R$5.2 million to R$18 million a year, an increase of 246%. Payments for intravenous drugs will be four times higher, and the amount for oral drugs will double.

The package also includes R$46 million a year for oncological video-assisted thoracic surgery, a minimally invasive technique used mainly for lung cancer, and updated fees for diagnostic tests such as biopsies and molecular biology tests.

Childhood cancer

The Ministry will also set up a working group to develop Brazil's first care pathway for retinoblastoma, a cancer that mainly affects children under 5. The main warning sign is a white reflection in the pupil. With early diagnosis and treatment at a specialized service, survival exceeds 90%.

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