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Roughly 9.7 million people are living with cancer in East and Southeast Asia. Once viewed as a virtual death sentence, cancer is increasingly treatable with the advent of personalized medicine, and even preventable in some cases through genetic screening and certain lifestyle changes. With the increasing prevalence and application of personalized medicine and diagnosis, more and more cancers will become ‘rare’. Thus, it is thus important to promote societal awareness and discussion around how best to manage care of rare cancers today. Are health systems in Asia prepared for this paradigm shift in oncology care? Is there a functioning ecosystem, which encompasses information, patient support, genetic screening of families and surveillance for other cancers? What needs to be done today to prepare for tomorrow’s reality? This article examines Asian health systems state of readiness and how they can prepare for the anticipated demand for access to personalized medicine in cancer care and suggests opportunities for expanded efforts to address resource gaps and leverage individual country expertise at a regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Rare diseases, also referred to as orphan diseases, are characterised by their low prevalence with majority of them are chronically debilitating and life threatening. Given the low prevalence and the widely dispersed but very small patient base for each disease, there may often be a disproportion in the availability of treatments and resources to manage patients, spur research and train experts. This is especially true in Southeast Asian countries that are currently in the process of implementing or revising their universal health coverage schemes. This paper aims to examine the status of rare disease management in Southeast Asian countries. It will serve as the basis for a more active discussion on how countries in the region can address an under-recognised rare disease burden and enhance national and regional capacities.Methods: The study consists of literature reviews and key stakeholders interviews in six focus countries, including the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand and five countries as best practice, comprising of France, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, and South Korea. Rare disease management initiatives across each country were examined based on the World Health Organization's framework for action in strengthening health systems.Results: The results suggest rare disease management remains challenging across Southeast Asia, as many of the focus countries face fundamental issues from basic healthcare systems to funding. Nonetheless, there are substantial improvement opportunities, including leveraging best practices from around the world and organising a multi-stakeholder and regional approach and strategy.Conclusions: Southeast Asian countries have made significant progress in the management of rare disease, but there remain key areas for substantial development opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]