(ARA) – Lung cancer is the deadliest of all cancers – claiming more lives each year than breast, prostate and colorectal cancers combined.
Lung cancer is often difficult to detect in early stages, and even then, it can quickly spread to other areas of the body. Unfortunately, there are no widely accepted screening methods for early stage lung cancer, such as mammograms for breast cancer, and the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer.
The disease lags far behind other cancers in both awareness and research funding, and partly due to its connection with smoking, there can be a stigma attached.
Today, the percentage of people who smoke is the lowest since World War I. And people are living longer with lung cancer. However, still less than 15 percent of those with later stage disease survive five years. Compare that to breast cancer, which has a 93 percent survival rate when diagnosed early, and prostate cancer, which has a nearly 100 percent five-year survival rate when diagnosed at early stages.
“But there is hope for lung cancer patients,” said Richard Gaynor, M.D., vice president of oncology product development and medical affairs at Eli Lilly and Company. “For the first time in decades, positive news is peppering the landscape. More people are recognizing the symptoms that can lead to an earlier diagnosis – persistent coughing or chest pain, shortness of breath, wheezing or hoarseness, coughing up blood, recurring pneumonia or bronchitis, and loss of appetite.”
Clinical advances mean newer medicines and unique drug combinations are now available. Some patients have the option to start a maintenance therapy immediately following their first-line treatments to try to maintain a positive response, instead of stopping treatment and waiting until the disease progresses to treat it again. And a greater understanding of lung cancer genetic variations and tumor types allows physicians to provide patients with the right drug for their specific type of lung cancer.
“We’ve made great strides with lung cancer, thanks to the tireless work of advocates, researchers, physicians and many others. But we have a long road ahead,” adds Gaynor. “Finding innovative solutions for treating this tough disease must remain a top priority for all of us in the health care industry.”