Patient's journey with HER2 positive breast cancer: difficulties in the access to treatment and new technologies in the Brazilian public health system

Introduction: Many limitations in the Brazilian public health system make the patient's journey with HER2+ breast cancer and the access to better treatments hard. In the scenery in which all the economic resources of the country are limited, the right incorporation of the health technologies proves to be a challenge. Purpose: To identify the main issues regarding the patient's journey with HER2+ breast cancer in Brazil's public health system scenario and, in this context, demonstrate the incorporation process of a new drug technology for this condition. Methods: The bibliographic compilation was done selecting published documents in English or Portuguese and the 'Recommendation Report from CONITEC - n. 319' was the main source of this bibliographic review. Results: The introduction of the target therapy with pertuzumab has proved to be another state-of-the art option for the treatment of HER2+ breast cancer. The society and scientific community's engagement have proved to be extremely influent so the incorporation of this therapy in the Brazilian public health system would be possible. Pertuzumab's incorporation process has properly respected the concepts encompassed by the Brazilian Health Technology Assessment. However, after the positive deliberation regarding pertuzumab's incorporation process, it has not been registered its supply to the population, suggesting a delay in the predetermined due date by the law. Conclusion: The implementation of innovative technologies to Brazilian public health system became a way to provide equal access to society, if they sustainably fit in the system. The assessment of this article has allowed a deeper knowledge regarding the reality of the journey's patient in the public health system, the importance of the Brazilian Health Technology Assessment, of the incorporation and transfer of technologies and the society's engagement in this scenery. (author)