A consensus reached by a lung clinical community within the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP), (1) presented at the European Lung Cancer Congress (ELCC), 30 March – 2 April 2022, has highlighted international disparities in management and outcomes of patients with lung cancer in high-income countries, and has provided a roadmap of key actions that should be taken to homogenize practices, help enable earlier diagnosis and offer equitable access to care.  

Getty Images


April 19, 2022 — A consensus reached by a lung clinical community within the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP), (1) presented at the European Lung Cancer Congress (ELCC), 30 March – 2 April 2022, has highlighted international disparities in management and outcomes of patients with lung cancer in high-income countries, and has provided a roadmap of key actions that should be taken to homogenize practices, help enable earlier diagnosis and offer equitable access to care.   

The ICBP is a collaboration bringing together clinicians, policymakers, researchers and data experts to measure and understand international variation in cancer incidence and outcomes. For lung cancer, the ICBP SURVMARK-2 project commissioned by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to benchmark cancer survival had previously revealed that variation in survival was greatest in early-stage disease.   

A research effort subsequently led by the ICBP in-house research team based at Cancer Research UK aimed to gain insight into the differences in clinical practice and treatment that could help explain these disparities between countries. “We interviewed nine key informants from multidisciplinary teams in ICBP countries. Leveraging a strong network of doctors with both clinical expertise and experience in auditing and policy advisory roles, a consensus-building effort was then launched to develop a roadmap for optimizing lung cancer care from an international perspective,” said author Charlotte Lynch, Cancer Research UK, London, explaining the process through which five calls to action and 13 good practice points were defined reaching 100% consensus.    

According to the project’s lead clinician Dr. Christian Finley, St Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, there is recognition that delayed diagnosis continues to be a widespread problem in a disease setting where the line between curative and non-curative treatment is easily crossed. “In spite of improvements in other areas like prevention, through smoking cessation initiatives and awareness campaigns, and even treatment, thanks to the arrival of more effective medicines, we have not seen survival in lung cancer improve to the same extent,” Finley explained, adding: “It is crucial that patients are diagnosed at the earliest point possible to give them the best chance of receiving curative treatment.”    

Further recommendations tackle, among others, the need for centers of excellence: “Specialized centers that are able to coordinate multidisciplinary care in a single place and streamline the patient care pathway have been seen to support improvements in outcomes in countries where they have been set up,” said Finley.  

The final call to action defined by consensus is to “recognize improvements in lung cancer care and outcomes as a priority in cancer policy”, which Lynch emphasized is a necessity in light of the inequities lung cancer patients still face in accessing care, including socio-economic inequalities, fatalistic attitudes and disease stigma. “Considering the disease’s persistently low survival even in high-income countries, it is time to focus on lung-cancer specific policies that will facilitate collaboration, drive service development and improve outcomes to the same extent as we have seen with other common cancers,” she said.   

Cautioning that the outlined approach was designed in a high-income setting and therefore cannot be universally applicable, Lynch nonetheless hopes that it will serve as the basis for conversations with advocacy bodies and policymakers, as well as help key stakeholders within individual countries better coordinate their efforts internationally in the future.   

Dr. Antonio Passaro, lung cancer expert from the European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy, not involved in the work, commented: “Lung cancer remains the most aggressive solid tumor, which is why primary as well as secondary prevention through screening must be prioritized. Although a much-debated topic in recent years, a strong body of research has now shown that lung cancer screening through annual computed tomography (CT) scans in individuals with a history of smoking can improve detection rates. (2) Targeting the right populations with these interventions will be crucial to implementing screening approaches that are both efficacious and cost-effective at the national level.”   

“Future activities in cancer prevention will also need to convey that lung cancer is not exclusively related to smoking, in order to reduce the stigma surrounding the disease and ensure that it does not prevent people from seeking timely care,” said Passaro.  

For more information: https://www.esmo.org/

References 

(1) Abstract 196P ‘An international consensus on actions to improve lung cancer survival: a clinical review by the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP)’ will be available as ePoster as of Tuesday, 29 March 2022 at 12:00 CEST. Annals of Oncology, Volume 33 Supplement 2, April 2022 

(2) F. Passiglia, M. Cinquini, L. Bertolaccini, M. Del Re, F. Facchinetti, R. Ferrara, T. Franchina, A. R. Larici, U. Malapelle, J. Menis, A. Passaro, S. Pilotto, S. Ramella, G. Rossi, R. Trisolini and S. Novello. Benefits and Harms of Lung Cancer Screening by Chest Computed Tomography: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.20.02574 


Related Content

News | Artificial Intelligence

Sept. 13, 2024 — Bayer Calantic Digital Solutions has announced the availability of a new eBook that addresses how ...

Time September 12, 2024
arrow
News | Computed Tomography (CT)

At the annual AHRA (American Healthcare Radiology Administrators) conference in Orlando, Florida, Bayer announced an ...

Time August 09, 2024
arrow
News | Computed Tomography (CT)

SPONSORED CONTENT — Fujifilm’s latest CT technology brings exceptional image quality to a compact and user- and patient ...

Time August 06, 2024
arrow
News | Radiology Business

July 31, 2024 — The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) announced the three Registered Technologists (R ...

Time July 31, 2024
arrow
Feature | Computed Tomography (CT) | By Melinda Taschetta-Millane

In the ever-evolving landscape of medical imaging, computed tomography (CT) stands out as a cornerstone technology ...

Time July 30, 2024
arrow
Videos | Radiology Business

Find actionable insights to achieve sustainability and savings in radiology in this newest of ITN’s “One on One” video ...

Time July 30, 2024
arrow
Feature | Radiology Business | By Christine Book

Across the healthcare industry, and, notably, throughout the radiology community in just the past few years, the focus ...

Time July 26, 2024
arrow
Feature | Mobile C-Arms | By Melinda Taschetta-Millane

Mobile C-arms continue to revolutionize medical imaging, offering versatility, mobility and real-time visualization ...

Time July 26, 2024
arrow
News | Radiology Business

July 25, 2024 — Immunis, Inc., a clinical-stage biotech developing groundbreaking secretome therapeutics for age and ...

Time July 25, 2024
arrow
News | Radiopharmaceuticals and Tracers

July 24, 2024 — Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited announced that the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ...

Time July 24, 2024
arrow
Subscribe Now