Bridging the divide: addressing discrepancies between clinical guidelines, policy guidelines, and biomarker utilization

Denis Horgan; Paul Hofman; Reinhard Buttner; Olaf Rieß; Iwona Lugowska; France Dube; Jaya Singh; Ernest Nadal; Tomasz Stokłosa; Elīna Sīviņa; Marc Van der buckle; Silvia Mosoiu; Luca Bertolaccini; Nicolas Girard; Jan van Meerbeeck; Imran Omar; Ettore d. Capoluongo; Stefan Bielack; Tanya Hills; David Baldwin; Vivek Subbiah

doi:10.1515/dx-2024-0092

Bridging the divide: addressing discrepancies between clinical guidelines, policy guidelines, and biomarker utilization

Denis Horgan^* (Corresponding Author)
, Paul Hofman
, Reinhard Buttner
, Olaf Rieß
, Iwona Lugowska
, France Dube
, Jaya Singh
, Ernest Nadal
, Tomasz Stokłosa
, Elīna Sīviņa
, Marc Van der buckle
, Silvia Mosoiu
, Luca Bertolaccini
, Nicolas Girard
, Jan van Meerbeeck
, Imran Omar
, Ettore d. Capoluongo
, Stefan Bielack
, Tanya Hills
, David Baldwin

Vivek Subbiah

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Objectives
This paper aims to identify and address gaps in cancer treatment and diagnosis within European health services, focusing specifically on discrepancies between clinical guidelines and policy guidelines. It seeks to highlight how the underutilization of advanced diagnostic techniques recommended by medical societies contributes to missed opportunities for improving patient outcomes.

Methods
A comprehensive analysis was conducted across multiple European countries to assess the compliance and integration of clinical guidelines with the availability of advanced diagnostic technologies. Secondary data related to clinical and policy guidelines in cancer care were collected and analyzed. Key indicators of adoption and utilization of next-generation sequencing and liquid biopsy were examined to evaluate their impact on health service efficiency and patient care.

Results
The analysis revealed significant discrepancies between the recommendations of medical societies regarding advanced diagnostic techniques and their adoption in health policy decisions across Europe. Country-specific assessments indicated varying levels of alignment between clinical guidelines and the availability of advanced diagnostics. These findings underscored missed opportunities for optimizing patient care and health service efficiency through better alignment and integration of clinical guidelines with policy decisions.

Conclusions
This study concludes that there is a critical need for health policy decision-makers to prioritize the adoption of clinical guidelines in resource allocation and health service organization. Greater attention to the recommendations of medical societies regarding advanced diagnostic techniques could significantly enhance diagnostic accuracy, treatment efficacy, and overall patient outcomes in cancer care. The paper advocates for policy reforms that acknowledge and leverage the potential benefits of advanced diagnostics in improving health service performance and patient-centered care across Europe.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	94-107
Number of pages	14
Journal	Diagnosis
Issue number	D
Early online date	1 Aug 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1515/dx-2024-0092
Publication status	Published - Feb 2025

Data Availability Statement

Not applicable

Funding

This research was funded by Reducing Disparities Across the European Union (BEACON) Project Number: 101080005, and by the CAN.HEAL project through the European Commission EU4Health Program 2021–2027 under Grant No. 101080009.

Funders	Funder number
European Commission	101080009, 101080005

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

clinical guidelines
policy guidelines
advances diagnostics
cancer care
next-generation sequencing
liquid biopsy

Access to Document

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Horgan_etal_D_Bridging_The_Divide_AAM
This manuscript has been made open access under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence under the terms of the University of Aberdeen Research Publications Policy. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Accepted author manuscript, 1 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Horgan, D., Hofman, P., Buttner, R., Rieß, O., Lugowska, I., Dube, F., Singh, J., Nadal, E., Stokłosa, T., Sīviņa, E., Van der buckle, M., Mosoiu, S., Bertolaccini, L., Girard, N., Meerbeeck, J. V., Omar, I., Capoluongo, E. D., Bielack, S., Hills, T., ... Subbiah, V. (2025). Bridging the divide: addressing discrepancies between clinical guidelines, policy guidelines, and biomarker utilization. Diagnosis, (D), 94-107. https://doi.org/10.1515/dx-2024-0092

Horgan, D, Hofman, P, Buttner, R, Rieß, O, Lugowska, I, Dube, F, Singh, J, Nadal, E, Stokłosa, T, Sīviņa, E, Van der buckle, M, Mosoiu, S, Bertolaccini, L, Girard, N, Meerbeeck, JV, Omar, I, Capoluongo, ED, Bielack, S, Hills, T, Baldwin, D & Subbiah, V 2025, 'Bridging the divide: addressing discrepancies between clinical guidelines, policy guidelines, and biomarker utilization', Diagnosis, no. D, pp. 94-107. https://doi.org/10.1515/dx-2024-0092

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title = "Bridging the divide: addressing discrepancies between clinical guidelines, policy guidelines, and biomarker utilization",

abstract = "Objectives This paper aims to identify and address gaps in cancer treatment and diagnosis within European health services, focusing specifically on discrepancies between clinical guidelines and policy guidelines. It seeks to highlight how the underutilization of advanced diagnostic techniques recommended by medical societies contributes to missed opportunities for improving patient outcomes. Methods A comprehensive analysis was conducted across multiple European countries to assess the compliance and integration of clinical guidelines with the availability of advanced diagnostic technologies. Secondary data related to clinical and policy guidelines in cancer care were collected and analyzed. Key indicators of adoption and utilization of next-generation sequencing and liquid biopsy were examined to evaluate their impact on health service efficiency and patient care. Results The analysis revealed significant discrepancies between the recommendations of medical societies regarding advanced diagnostic techniques and their adoption in health policy decisions across Europe. Country-specific assessments indicated varying levels of alignment between clinical guidelines and the availability of advanced diagnostics. These findings underscored missed opportunities for optimizing patient care and health service efficiency through better alignment and integration of clinical guidelines with policy decisions. Conclusions This study concludes that there is a critical need for health policy decision-makers to prioritize the adoption of clinical guidelines in resource allocation and health service organization. Greater attention to the recommendations of medical societies regarding advanced diagnostic techniques could significantly enhance diagnostic accuracy, treatment efficacy, and overall patient outcomes in cancer care. The paper advocates for policy reforms that acknowledge and leverage the potential benefits of advanced diagnostics in improving health service performance and patient-centered care across Europe.",

keywords = "clinical guidelines, policy guidelines, advances diagnostics, cancer care, next-generation sequencing, liquid biopsy",

author = "Denis Horgan and Paul Hofman and Reinhard Buttner and Olaf Rie{\ss} and Iwona Lugowska and France Dube and Jaya Singh and Ernest Nadal and Tomasz Stok{\l}osa and Elīna Sīviņa and \{Van der buckle\}, Marc and Silvia Mosoiu and Luca Bertolaccini and Nicolas Girard and Meerbeeck, \{Jan van\} and Imran Omar and Capoluongo, \{Ettore d.\} and Stefan Bielack and Tanya Hills and David Baldwin and Vivek Subbiah",

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doi = "10.1515/dx-2024-0092",

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AU - Horgan, Denis

AU - Hofman, Paul

AU - Buttner, Reinhard

AU - Rieß, Olaf

AU - Lugowska, Iwona

AU - Dube, France

AU - Singh, Jaya

AU - Nadal, Ernest

AU - Stokłosa, Tomasz

AU - Sīviņa, Elīna

AU - Van der buckle, Marc

AU - Mosoiu, Silvia

AU - Bertolaccini, Luca

AU - Girard, Nicolas

AU - Meerbeeck, Jan van

AU - Omar, Imran

AU - Capoluongo, Ettore d.

AU - Bielack, Stefan

AU - Hills, Tanya

AU - Baldwin, David

AU - Subbiah, Vivek

PY - 2025/2

Y1 - 2025/2

N2 - Objectives This paper aims to identify and address gaps in cancer treatment and diagnosis within European health services, focusing specifically on discrepancies between clinical guidelines and policy guidelines. It seeks to highlight how the underutilization of advanced diagnostic techniques recommended by medical societies contributes to missed opportunities for improving patient outcomes. Methods A comprehensive analysis was conducted across multiple European countries to assess the compliance and integration of clinical guidelines with the availability of advanced diagnostic technologies. Secondary data related to clinical and policy guidelines in cancer care were collected and analyzed. Key indicators of adoption and utilization of next-generation sequencing and liquid biopsy were examined to evaluate their impact on health service efficiency and patient care. Results The analysis revealed significant discrepancies between the recommendations of medical societies regarding advanced diagnostic techniques and their adoption in health policy decisions across Europe. Country-specific assessments indicated varying levels of alignment between clinical guidelines and the availability of advanced diagnostics. These findings underscored missed opportunities for optimizing patient care and health service efficiency through better alignment and integration of clinical guidelines with policy decisions. Conclusions This study concludes that there is a critical need for health policy decision-makers to prioritize the adoption of clinical guidelines in resource allocation and health service organization. Greater attention to the recommendations of medical societies regarding advanced diagnostic techniques could significantly enhance diagnostic accuracy, treatment efficacy, and overall patient outcomes in cancer care. The paper advocates for policy reforms that acknowledge and leverage the potential benefits of advanced diagnostics in improving health service performance and patient-centered care across Europe.

AB - Objectives This paper aims to identify and address gaps in cancer treatment and diagnosis within European health services, focusing specifically on discrepancies between clinical guidelines and policy guidelines. It seeks to highlight how the underutilization of advanced diagnostic techniques recommended by medical societies contributes to missed opportunities for improving patient outcomes. Methods A comprehensive analysis was conducted across multiple European countries to assess the compliance and integration of clinical guidelines with the availability of advanced diagnostic technologies. Secondary data related to clinical and policy guidelines in cancer care were collected and analyzed. Key indicators of adoption and utilization of next-generation sequencing and liquid biopsy were examined to evaluate their impact on health service efficiency and patient care. Results The analysis revealed significant discrepancies between the recommendations of medical societies regarding advanced diagnostic techniques and their adoption in health policy decisions across Europe. Country-specific assessments indicated varying levels of alignment between clinical guidelines and the availability of advanced diagnostics. These findings underscored missed opportunities for optimizing patient care and health service efficiency through better alignment and integration of clinical guidelines with policy decisions. Conclusions This study concludes that there is a critical need for health policy decision-makers to prioritize the adoption of clinical guidelines in resource allocation and health service organization. Greater attention to the recommendations of medical societies regarding advanced diagnostic techniques could significantly enhance diagnostic accuracy, treatment efficacy, and overall patient outcomes in cancer care. The paper advocates for policy reforms that acknowledge and leverage the potential benefits of advanced diagnostics in improving health service performance and patient-centered care across Europe.

KW - clinical guidelines

KW - policy guidelines

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KW - cancer care

KW - next-generation sequencing

KW - liquid biopsy

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JO - Diagnosis

JF - Diagnosis

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ER -

Bridging the divide: addressing discrepancies between clinical guidelines, policy guidelines, and biomarker utilization

Abstract

Data Availability Statement

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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