Blue Matter team members Chirag Ghai and Cameron Wong co-authored this paper.
ABSTRACT
Introduction
In recent years, the role and utility of real-world evidence in complementing randomized controlled trials in oncology has become increasingly evident, accompanied by ongoing progress in real-world data (RWD) capabilities. Beyond Western regions such as North America and Europe, RWD in the broader international landscape has similarly matured, but is comparatively not as well characterized.
Methods
Recognizing a need to better understand contemporary availability and characteristics of oncology RWD sources outside North America and Europe, a targeted literature review was conducted, focused on English language articles published from January 1, 2020 to May 1, 2025. The review encompassed select representative countries from Latin America (LATAM), Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Asia Pacific (APAC).
Results
Of the 466 publications ultimately included in review, data extraction yielded 103 unique oncology RWD sources (61 in LATAM, 9 in MENA, 33 in APAC). Across the regions, similarities and differences were observed. While some countries like Brazil and Taiwan demonstrate potential impact of government-led initiatives across the entire health system, other countries like Argentina and Mexico rely more on site-level or network/consortium approaches for data collection and analysis. Overall, a common trend was seen in emerging examples of progress towards advanced RWD capabilities such as biobanks or clinicogenomic datasets.
Conclusion
Looking ahead, continued investment and coordinated, multi-stakeholder effort will be critical to fully realize potential of oncology RWD in these regions.
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