Implement lung cancer screening programs with low-dose chest CT scans for at-risk populations residing throughout the country. This is the central point of the new position paper ‘Lung cancer: the main path is early diagnosis’, created with the unconditional contribution of Johnson & Johnson MedTech and presented this morning in Rome, in the press room of the Chamber of Deputies. The document, drawn up by an editorial panel made up of representatives of the scientific community, patient associations and institutions, underlines the importance and need for our country to “promote screening programs for lung cancer, intended for the target population, such as effective tool for health planning and prevention to improve patients’ lives”.
Lung cancer is one of the main causes of oncological morbidity and mortality in our country. In 2023, approximately 44 thousand new diagnoses were recorded, placing lung cancer among the most frequent neoplasms, particularly among men. This trend is exacerbated by the estimate of annual deaths, which in 2022 was around 35,700. “The impact of lung cancer on the Italian socio-health ecosystem is profound – states Simona Loizzo, member of the editorial panel and group leader of the League in the Social Affairs Commission of the Chamber – with a very often poor prognosis for patients (a 5-year survival 16% in men and 23% in women) and expensive healthcare which amounts, according to estimates, to over 9,300 euros in average hospitalization costs”.
In this context, the experts who spoke at the event explain, early diagnosis emerges as a crucial element in the fight against cancer, as 44% of patients who receive a diagnosis of lung cancer have metastatic disease, while only 26% it is at an early stage. Screening, as confirmed by the analysis of national and international data, represents the key tool for identifying the disease early, offering greater opportunities for effective treatment and, consequently, a better prognosis for patients. In fact, the correlation between the stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis and its curability is evident: 5-year survival can vary drastically, from 7-10% for advanced-stage diagnoses to 60-70% for early-stage ones. Sharing the importance of structurally promoting screening programs for the early diagnosis of lung cancer, a process was started in which the scientific community, patients and institutions worked synergistically to identify, in light of the scientific evidence already present, concrete actions to be implemented to implement programs intended for the target population in a uniform manner throughout the national territory, encouraging early and timely management.
“In this context, the importance of an accurate evaluation of the effectiveness of the screening program emerges to guarantee the efficiency, effectiveness and economic sustainability of the program in the operational context, adopting a standardized approach at national level that integrates quantitative and qualitative data “, declares the president of the Italian Society of Thoracic Endoscopy, Giuseppe Cardillo. “In this way, the evaluation ensures that the program meets health needs and that it is managed in an economically sustainable and responsible way,” he adds. This is also demonstrated by the data just published in the first report of the Working Group on Equity and Health in the Regions of the Higher Institute of Health, which underlines that in the Northern regions, where population coverage of screening is high, the reduction of breast cancer mortality between 2001 and 2021 exceeds 35%. A similar trend is also recorded for colon cancers: in the Central and Northern regions where screening started earlier and with higher coverage levels (around 70%), mortality was reduced by around 30%, much more than in the South (-14% in women and -8% in men).
“This implies that institutions – states the president of the Italian Society of Thoracic Surgery, Francesco Facciolo – respond to the urgent need to integrate a lung cancer screening program into national health policies, addressing and overcoming existing operational and financial challenges , developing an integrated system that is organized, uniform across all regions and accessible to all.”
The president and CEO of Johnson & Johnson MedTech Italia, Gabriele Fischetto, concludes that “access to an early diagnosis is essential and must be made available to every citizen: it is a fundamental key to best direct treatments and resources of our healthcare system. This is even more true when it comes to oncological diseases such as lung cancer. We, as Johnson & Johnson MedTech, stand alongside the scientific community and patients and want to further raise awareness of the commitment on the part of the institutions in order to systematize and expand screening programs to tackle this big killer together.”
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