Study assesses cancer care mentoring programs in Latin America

A group of investigators from LACOG and CLICaP, together with 30 young oncologists from eight Latin American countries, undertook a study called “Mentoring as an opportunity to improve research and cancer care in Latin America” (AAZPIRE Project) with the aim of assessing mentoring programs in countries in Latin America, along with obstacles and limitations to implementation. The paper was published in December, in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). 

“Mentoring programs in our countries are limited and we depend on those conducted in major oncology associations, with completely different social and economic realities. This highlights the importance of creating mentorship programs in our region”, explains Dr. Martín Angel, a clinical oncologist at the Alexander Fleming Institute, in Argentina, and a LACOG investigator. He further underscored: “one of the leading benefits of mentoring programs in clinical research in Latin America will be through deeper insight into regional epidemiology, steering our health policies and ensuring better care for patients based on the prevalent pathologies.”