The organization of São Paulo cancer research agenda: an analysis of the formation of molecular oncology research field (1981-2014)

Abstract

How is biomedical research agenda is setting and established? It will explore how molecular oncology emerged around the turn of the 1970's as a site of particularly intense activity in biomedical research and medical-scientific relations in different organizations for Cancer research in São Paulo State, in Brazil. It's prompted in large part by believe that developments in science and technology would effect and transforming health care, creating new treatments and innovation in drug discovery and personalized medicine in development world. The study will locate the historical context of changings, by producing a comprehensive account of the transformations in actors, institutions and policies, using the concepts of Social Studies of Science and Technology. For knowing about the characteristics of research agenda setting, we search for information in official reports on national and state institutions of research funding, as well applying interviews with important researchers on these places. The story involves important global and national transformations in Cancer Research Agenda that changing the orientation of public health policy, themes for R&D, science policy for clinical and medicine research, etc. The rising of investments from new pharmaceutical companies, changes in the regulatory environment for cancer research and the empowerment of scientific groups at public health are some evidences of that new set of actors and institutions. The work will focus upon the emergence of Cancer as scientific fact for São Paulo state's molecular biology community; and how it becomes an important medical-scientific policy arena. By analyzing the social and political factors involved at the emergence of Cancer research in Brazil, the study will help to stimulate debates about the specificities of biomedicine research and the cancer research organizations on development countries. (AU)