Blockchain-Enabled Pharmacovigilance Infrastructure for National Cancer Registries

Abstract

The integration of blockchain technology into pharmacovigilance infrastructure for national cancer registries presents a transformative approach to managing drug safety data. Traditional pharmacovigilance systems often face challenges such as fragmented data sources, delayed reporting, lack of transparency, and data security risks. Blockchain offers a decentralized, immutable, and transparent framework that can enhance the accuracy, timeliness, and reliability of adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting. This review explores how blockchain can be applied to cancer registries to create a more efficient and trustworthy pharmacovigilance ecosystem. It highlights the key components of a blockchain-enabled infrastructure, including smart contracts for automating data validation, permissioned ledgers for maintaining patient confidentiality, and interoperability standards to facilitate seamless data exchange among stakeholders. Furthermore, it discusses the potential benefits such as improved patient safety, strengthened regulatory oversight, enhanced collaboration among healthcare providers, and empowerment of patients in the pharmacovigilance process. Despite the promising prospects, challenges including technical complexity, regulatory compliance, scalability, and stakeholder acceptance must be addressed. Overall, blockchain holds significant potential to revolutionize pharmacovigilance practices, particularly in oncology, where timely detection and response to drug-related adverse events are critical for patient outcomes and public health.