The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) announced that the organization participated in a 2-day meeting at the Middle East North Africa (MENA)–NCCN Regional Coordinating Center.
Background
The MENA-NCCN Regional Coordinating Center is supported by the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, an office that has been working closely with the NCCN to ensure quality guideline adaptation and knowledge exchange since 2014.
“We are so proud of this ongoing relationship with cancer care experts across the MENA region,” underscored Crystal S. Denlinger, MD, Chief Executive Officer of the NCCN, who spoke during a session on the history of the organization and its global impact. “Over the years, we have published more than a dozen NCCN Guidelines specifically for the MENA region, which are applicable to approximately 65% of all adult cancer incidence here. That represents over 2,000 pages of clinical content being updated every 2 years. We are honored to be able to work together to empower the MENA oncology community to deliver high-quality cancer care, enhance scientific communication, and improve access for patients,” she highlighted.
Meeting Overview
During the international meeting, experts from across the region presented new and updated NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines): MENA Editions and selected topics highlighting cancer advances, challenges, and opportunities in the MENA region. The NCCN Guidelines provide evidence-based, expert consensus-driven recommendations for cancer prevention, screening, treatment, and supportive care. NCCN Guidelines: MENA Editions tailor those best practices for unique local and regional circumstances.
Specific NCCN Guidelines: MENA Editions that were reviewed included those covering:
- Hematologic malignancies
- Breast cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Hepatic cancer
- Non–small cell lung cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Genetics and hereditary risk for breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancers
- Palliative care.
The NCCN Guidelines: MENA Editions offer color-coded guidance for health-care providers on how best to care for patients with cancer. Text in black represents current global recommendations, while italicized blue text indicates appropriate and feasible regional modifications—as determined by in-country experts. Approaches that are not currently feasible are marked with grey strikethrough text.
The NCCN Global Program also features NCCN Guidelines that have been translated more than 270 times across over 50 different languages. NCCN Harmonized Guidelines and NCCN Framework for Resource Stratification (NCCN Framework) supply additional recommendations for defining appropriate treatment for differing resource levels.
Conclusions
“This gathering represents an important opportunity to continue integrating global cancer care standards with regional expertise, ensuring more equitable and effective treatment outcomes for [individuals] in the MENA region,” emphasized Kanan Al Shammari, MBChB, Director of the MENA-NCCN Regional Coordinating Center at the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs. “NCCN has a distinguished legacy of improving cancer care globally. We are pleased to work together to further the impact of medical advances so [patients] with cancer and their loved ones can live better lives throughout our area,” he concluded.
