The Future of Lung Cancer Treatment & Care
- The approach to treating lung cancer has changed drastically in the past 15 years, Arun Krishna, VP, Head of Lung Cancer Franchise at AstraZeneca, says.
- These days, Mr. Krishna explains that there are three important ways drugmakers are trying to revolutionize lung cancer care: biomarkers, early screening/detection, and offering precision medicine.
- A biomarker refers to any biological marker found in blood, body fluids, or tissues (taken during biopsy) that signals the presence of normal or abnormal biological processes, conditions, or diseases.
- When used in oncology, a cancer biomarker specifically characterizes the disease — which could lead to more tailored treatment approaches.
- Early detection is also crucial, and people who have a 20-pack-year or more smoking history, currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years, and are between the ages of 50 and 80 are eligible for lung cancer screening.
Arun Krishna, Vice President, Head of Lung Cancer Franchise at AstraZeneca, explains that while there were limited treatment options for complex cancer cases years ago, new testing methods have changed the game.
Read MoreBiomarkers
Until recently, the diagnosis of cancer was typically based solely on results from a biopsy. Nowadays, scientists have realized that certain characteristics present on the surface of cancer cells differ among patients with the same type of cancer. They also discovered that specific tumors release/produce substances that can be found circulating in the blood; these are known as “biomarkers.”
A biomarker refers to any biological marker found in blood, body fluids, or tissues (e.g., biopsy) that signals the presence of normal or abnormal biological processes, conditions, or diseases. When used in oncology, a cancer biomarker specifically characterizes the disease — which could lead to more tailored treatment approaches.
Understanding Lung Cancer Diagnosis
The search for a biomarker should be done as early as possible to provide the best-targeted treatment options if applicable. Unfortunately, this is still a huge barrier in the health system, mainly in community hospitals and care provided by non-specialists.
Dr. Krishna stresses how critical it is for patients to know their biomarker status.
“I’ve seen numerous patients who I’ve come across who don’t know their biomarker status … in today’s age when you have targeted treatments that really help, which are targeted to the oncogenic driver of the mutation, you need to be able to know what your biomarker status is,” he explains.
The medical community has been constantly working to educate clinicians, the community, and multidisciplinary teams about the importance of these cancer drivers.
Dr. Krishna urges patients who do not know their status to speak to their healthcare providers about it.
“You always have to ask your healthcare provider, ‘Hey, do we need a biopsy? Do we need to understand what, do I have any specific driver mutations or any biomarkers for which the targeted treatments are more beneficial than just generic chemotherapy?” he explains.
The Power of Early Screening
Fortunately, with a better understanding of cancer and its nuances, doctors are able to recommend screening for certain types of malignancies that can potentially change their prevalence in the population. For instance, screening for breast and colorectal cancer has dramatically changed mortality and public policies toward the population at high risk. In lung cancer, there are specific populations of people who should be regularly screened.
“If you can diagnose earlier and provide treatments earlier, you have that much more chance of living longer and healthier,” Dr. Krishna explains. “You get diagnosed earlier, you get treatments that are now developed in the earlier setting … Similar to breast cancer, [with] lung cancer, we can move up survival rates with an ambition over the next five years to more than 50 or 60% five-year survival rates.”
The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends patients who meet the following criteria be screened for lung cancer:
- Those who have a 20-pack-year or more smoking history
- Those who smoke now or have quit within the past 15 years
- Those between 50 and 80 years old
A pack-year is smoking an average of one pack of cigarettes per day for one year. For example, a person could have a 20-pack-year history of smoking one pack a day for 20 years or two packs a day for 10 years.
“If you are eligible for lung cancer screening, please get screened — because the earlier you catch the disease, the more options we have,” Dr. Krishna says.
Environmental Support
The third element of revolutionizing cancer treatment is making sure to find a supportive system that will provide you with the most targeted therapy and personal needs.
Comprehensive care in lung cancer treatment involves a multidisciplinary approach — or an approach that involves the expertise of doctors with multiple different specialties — that addresses not only the physical aspects of the disease but also the emotional, psychological, and social needs of patients.
By integrating the expertise of oncologists, surgeons, radiologists, pulmonologists, nurses, and supportive care professionals, treatment plans become more tailored and responsive to individual patient needs. This collaboration helps ensure timely interventions, ongoing communication, and coordinated follow-up, ultimately improving survival rates and enhancing patients’ overall well-being.
It is of utmost importance that patients and their relatives get active in the treatment process. It is essential to read about the disease, to ask questions to your healthcare team, and to understand the condition you are going through.
“We provide education, we provide support system — all of it in this space,” Dr. Krishna says.
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