The event highlights the urgency of curing lung cancer

Only one in five patients lives more than five years after diagnosis

Data from the National Cancer Institute (INCA) make it clear that the topic cannot be overlooked. It is expected that around 32,500 cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in the country in 2023. The disease kills around 28,000 Brazilians every year and is the type of cancer with the highest number of victims among neoplasms. Approximately 80% of cases are associated with smoking1.

To deepen the debate on the prevention and early diagnosis of lung cancer, Estadão will hold, together with AstraZeneca, the panel “Lung cancer: how to improve the prognosis of Brazilian patients? location on October 5, at 11:10 am.

The debate will be led by journalist Rita Lisauskas and renowned experts will be present: Dr. Clarissa Baldotto, President of the Brazilian Group of Thoracic Oncology (GBOT), Director of the Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology (SBOC) and Coordinator of the Medical Residency Program in Oncology at ID’Or in RJ; Dr. Gustavo Prado, member of the Brazilian Society of Pneumology and Physiology (SBPT); Marlene Oliveira, president of the Lado Institute in Lado pela Vida.

The initiative aims to increase survival rates

There is an international effort to improve lung cancer rates. AstraZeneca itself – a biopharmaceutical company present in more than 100 countries, which develops innovative drugs used by millions of people – is one of the protagonists of the Lung Ambition Alliance, an initiative that aims to increase the survival rates of lung cancer patients .

One of the strategies, as in the case of mammograms, PSA tests and digital rectal exams to identify prostate cancer, is to consolidate a screening protocol for use in patients at high risk of developing the disease. According to a document prepared by the Brazilian Society of Pneumology and Tisiology (SBPT), the Brazilian Society of Thoracic Surgery (SBCT) and the Brazilian College of Radiology (CBR), there is a population profile that must be pursued initially.

The recommendation, according to consensus, is that every year people between the ages of 50 and 80, who meet certain criteria, undergo a low-radiation chest tomography scan. Active smokers or those who have stopped using nicotine less than 15 years ago are among the group that should be screened. As well as people who have a 20 year/pack history of smoking.

This index is calculated by dividing the average number of cigarettes consumed per day by 20 (the size of a pack) multiplied by the number of years the person smokes or has smoked. In other words, if a person smokes 10 cigarettes a day for 40 years, their smoking history will be 20 years/pack (10 divided by 20 by 40). The criteria were built on the basis of scientific studies, which have shown that screening the highest risk population reduces mortality due to the disease by approximately 20%.

More prevention, less costs

The consensus on creating a lung cancer screening protocol is in line with the science. A recent and unprecedented study, “The economic cost of lung cancer and the importance of screening and early diagnosis”, conducted by Insper, with the support of the biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, revealed that between 2015 and 2019 a total of 80% of all spent by SUS with lung cancer (approximately R$1.3 billion in 2019) was related to the high mortality rate due to the disease. In other words, more prevention also means a lower bill for public authorities.

Although it is not the most common cancer, with an estimated 32,560 new cases per year in the period 2023-20251, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Brazil and worldwide, with rates higher than total prostate mortality , breast and colorectal. tumors.

In Brazil, scientific estimates show that approximately 70% of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, a number that can potentially be reduced by more than 50% if an effective screening program is implemented2,3. Furthermore, a third of the people who died from lung cancer in the period analyzed by Insper’s research were under retirement age, which generates many costs for the country.

Material intended for all types of audiences. BR-26261. September 2023.

1 National Cancer Institute (INCA). Brazil – estimate of new cases. Available at: https://www.gov.br/inca/ptbr/assuntos/cancer/numeros/estimativa/estado-capital/brasil. Accessed August 21, 2023.

2 KONING, H. et al. Reduced lung cancer mortality with volume CT screening in a randomized trial. N Engl J Med 2020; 382:503-513.

3 Mathias, C. et al. Lung cancer in Brazil. Editorial: lung cancer in the world | volume 15, number 2, P170-175.

Source: Terra

Rose

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