New Report Shows That Despite Poor Survival Rates Lung Cancer is not Prioritized in Europe
Stockholm (ots/PRNewswire)
- Report Benchmarks the Current State of Lung Cancer Care Across Europe
The fragmented organization and management of lung cancer diagnosis and care in many European countries are exacerbating already poor survival rates amongst patients with the disease. That is the conclusion of a new report from a group of leading Swedish researchers published on http://www.comparatorreports.se (1).
There is a great need to improve outcomes for patients with lung cancer. It is the most lethal form of cancer in Europe and causes between 15-28 per cent of all cancer deaths. The burden lung cancer places on patients and their relatives is profound; it also places a significant economic burden on society.
"There is a real need to improve survival and outcomes for people with lung cancer" said Nils Wilking of the Karolinska Institutet and primary author of the report. "We hope that this report will help both stimulate and measure the success of developments and changes in lung cancer services and ultimately improve patient outcomes."
Key findings in the report include:
- Late diagnosis of lung cancer is the most important factor explaining low survival rates. Almost 90 per cent of people diagnosed with lung cancer die within 5 years.
- Once diagnosed, the fragmented organization and management of lung cancer care in many countries are affecting timely access for patients to the most appropriate treatment.
- The countries in which survival is best tend to have better provision of radiotherapy equipment, as well as better patient access to modern lung cancer drugs.
- Lung cancer takes a relatively large share of overall healthcare spending for cancer ranging from 6.6% in Finland to a maximum of 9.9 per cent in Hungary. Of this, hospital care uses a relatively large share of the direct costs, for example 93 per cent in Germany; 86 per cent in Sweden and 77 per cent in the Netherlands. The amount spent on ambulatory -mainly outpatient care- is much smaller 4 per cent, 13 per cent and 9 per cent for the same countries respectively and drug costs account for the least amount of spend, for example 3 per cent, 1 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively.
- Apart from improving access to modern cancer drugs it is important to introduce effective measures in prevention and early detection through well structured and administered cancer registries to track any changes that these and other organisational changes may make.
The report includes data from 20 countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. The selection of countries was based on available data sources as well as input from key opinion leaders within the selected countries.
The 'Benchmarking Report of Lung Cancer Care in selected European Countries' was undertaken through collaboration of Dr Nils Wilking of the Karolinska Institutet, Daniel Hogberg of i3 Innovus and Professor Bengt Jönsson of the Stockholm School of Economics. Funding was provided to i3innovus by F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.
About i3
i3, a global Ingenix company, provides integrated scientific strategies and solutions throughout the pharmaceutical product lifecycle. It is composed of i3 Research, a therapeutically specialized contract research organization; i3 Drug Safety, engaged in pharmacovigilance and epidemiology; i3 Pharma Informatics, a data, science and technology provider of market analytics; i3 Statprobe, a leader in comprehensive data services; i3 Pharma Resourcing, a world-class staffing partner; and i3 Innovus, delivering the science and solutions to achieve marketplace success. i3 helps companies gain sharper insights that lead to better patient care. For more information, visit http://www.i3global.com.
Notes to Editors:
- The report was researched and written by Dr Nils Wilking, Clinical Oncologist, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, Daniel Högberg of i3 Innovus and Professor Bengt Jönsson, Stockholm School of Economics.
- Lung cancer is not one disease, but several diseases, divided into two main categories: Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) and Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). This study mainly reports on NSCLC, reflecting the fact that it accounts for 85% of all cases of lung cancer.
(1) Wilking, N, Hogberg D and Jönsson B. `Benchmarking Report of Lung Cancer Care in selected European Countries' 2008 http://www.comparatorreports.se
Contact:
For more information contact: Dr Nils Wilking, Phone:
+46-73-625-17-19, E-mail: nils.wilking@telia.com