Global Lung Cancer Coalition

For healthcare correspondents

Victims of World’s Biggest Cancer Killer Demand Better Care

An International campaign to improve standards of care and treatment for those fighting lung cancer was launched today by the world’s first international coalition of lung cancer patient organisations.

Lung cancer kills more people each year than breast and prostate cancer put together¹, yet investment into research for new treatments to combat this devastating disease has fallen behind, leaving patients with few treatment options.

“Innovative cancer research and new treatments developed in recent years have benefited patients suffering from some types of cancer more than others” said Nadine Jelsing, Executive Director of the US Alliance for Lung Cancer Advocacy, Support, and Education (ALCASE), one of the organisations which has joined the new Global Lung Cancer Coalition. “For example, in the US, with recent advances in early detection and treatment, at least three quarters of women with breast cancer can expect to live for five years and often much longer. In contrast, only one in ten patients with lung cancer are alive after five years².”

Why has the outlook for people with lung cancer remained so poor? The Global Lung Cancer Coalition believes that public, physician and governmental attitude towards this devastating disease has played a pivotal role: “Many people see lung cancer as a self-inflicted disease, and may feel less inclined to support and care for its victims than perhaps they do for other cancer sufferers,” said Dr Jesme Baird from the Roy Castle Lung Foundation, UK, “But the reality is that nicotine addiction is by no means the only cause of lung cancer: environmental, dietary and genetic factors have all been identified as increasing the risk of the disease. This deadly disease can strike anyone.”

Drawing upon the success of campaigns such as AIDS and breast cancer, where patient organisations have not only mobilised public support for the victims of these life-threatening diseases, but have motivated researchers and health policy groups to improve patient access to quality treatment and care, the Global Lung Cancer Coalition aims to:

• Place lung cancer squarely on the global health agenda
• Lessen the stigma of lung cancer among patients, their families, their health care providers, policy makers, and the general public
• Empower lung cancer patients and their loved ones to take a more active role in their care
• Effect change in relevant legislative and regulatory policies to optimise treatment and care of lung cancer patients

Dr Baird concluded, “Prevention and smoking cessation campaigns, which help people overcome nicotine addiction, are of course a vital element in the fight against lung cancer. But the disease is simply not just going to go away. Even with the best treatments currently available, and by no means do all patients have access to these treatments, survival rates in lung cancer are the worst among all major types of cancer. Only 4 in 10 can expect to survive for more than a year2. This situation is just not acceptable. More effort must be put behind screening for the disease, a move which has already revolutionised the outlook for those with breast cancer. We must see more investment into researching new treatments for lung cancer in the future and better access to the best treatments currently available.”

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1. GLOBOCAN 2000: Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Prevalence Worldwide, Version 1.0. IARC CancerBase No. 5. Lyon, IARCPress, 2001
2. American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts and Figures 2001: www.cancer.org/statistics

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