The approach to lung cancer in early stages and its advances, both in diagnosis and in treatments, will be studied by oncologists specializing in this tumor during a double symposium that will take place on April 22 and 29.
Organized jointly by the Spanish Lung Cancer Group (GECP) and Roche Farma, this event, which will be held online, will bring together Spanish and North American experts who will develop their work in round tables on the challenges of diagnosis, advances in treatments and new prospects for this tumor.
Lung cancer is the most deadly neoplastic disease in the world, accounting for 18.4 percent of all cancer deaths.
In Spain, about 29,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year and about 23,000 deaths are registered from this pathology.
The profile of the patient with lung cancer in Spain is male, 64 years old on average at the time of diagnosis, and in 86% of cases a smoker or ex-smoker. One in four cases occurs in women.
Only 21 percent of lung cancer cases are found in the early stages.
The current five-year survival is below 15%, but it can exceed 80% if it is possible to increase the diagnosis in the initial stages with the possibility of surgical treatment.
Dr. Ernest Nadal, head of the Oncology Thoracic Tumors section at the Catalan Institute of Oncology-Hospitalet (Barcelona) and a member of the GECP Board of Directors, has pointed out to Efe that in lung cancer “one of the problems we have is that, quite often, the disease is diagnosed when it is widespread. “
“It is very important to detect it in earlier stages, when we can still use a treatment with curative intent that can eradicate or eliminate cancer and the patient survives in the long term,” he emphasizes.
Nadal explains that, as in breast or colon cancer, the implantation of screenings that can help with an early diagnosis is being studied, although he admits that in the case of the lung these tests are less simple.
“More sophisticated techniques are needed such as computerized tomography, low-dose CT, which requires more complexity. The implementation of these screening measures must be evaluated, selecting patients at risk, exposed to tobacco during a period of their life, from 55 years, “he defends.
Dr. Nadal also highlights the importance of intensifying primary prevention actions to reduce smoking.
“The first of all is to avoid lung cancer by fighting tobacco. 80/90% of cases, not all, are associated with a history of smoking,” he points out.
The medical director of Roche Farma in Spain, Beatriz Pérez, highlights the importance of the Forum and highlights: “The fundamental challenge is to improve the diagnosis of lung cancer in early stages and delay relapse.”
“If in Spain we had an extended screening in this type of tumors, as there is in breast or cervical cancer, it would be a great advance”, adds Beatriz Pérez, who, like Dr. Nadal, highlights the importance of campaigns anti-smoking.
In addition, he points out that “around 50% of patients may relapse into their disease in the first two years after treatment; it is essential to have better diagnostic tools and new therapeutic options to delay or avoid these relapses.”
Regarding lung cancer screening, it is committed to research and identifying “simpler and cheaper forms” of early diagnosis, and points to the role that personalized medicine can play in this objective.
–
