SEOM Guidelines 2015: a new era in the collaboration with the Spanish Cancer Research Cooperative Groups

Excerpt

SEOM clinical guidelines were born in 2010 as a perceived need by the Spanish oncologists, that required clinical practice documents tailored to the peculiarities of the spanish healthcare system. Since then, in the successive annual editions, numerous guidelines have been published focusing on the diagnosis and therapeutic management of the most prevalent malignancies and also in relation to supportive care and symptom control. As we have remarked on previous occasions, there is no doubt of the need of editing local guides about the medical treatment of cancer. Sometimes it could be considered unnecessary because many other international guidelines are also available. However, it is well known that the particularities of patient care varies depending on numerous factors, such as health care setting, geographic area, access to new drugs, insurance coverage, and local treatment protocols [1]. A recent comprehensive survey conducted by SEOM has detected disparities in the treatment and services provided to the patients depending on the geographic area or the center considered. This report will be published during 2016 and reveals the need of national guidelines as a way to reduce disparities. This fact has been taken into account by the SEOM organization, which has positioned itself unequivocally in favor of equity of access to treatments for all patients along our country. …