“Lung cancer is a disease you can’t see, but you can feel it coming”
New campaign aims to raise awareness for symptoms and early warning signals
Brussels, 3rd November 2021 – Most lung cancers are diagnosed at a late stage of the disease, which limits treatment options and has a major impact on the life expectancy of patients. Ahead of Lung Cancer Awareness Month this November, Belgian patient representatives, healthcare professionals, academic centres and pharma industry partners launched a new campaign in which they call for more attention for early warning signs.
Not only smokers
Lung cancer is the third most frequent cancer in Belgium and accounts for 13% of the total number of cancer cases[1]. While smoking remains the main cause of lung cancer, experts point out that 20% of lung cancer patients never smoked. Hence, the new campaign sets out to drive the general public’s awareness for lung cancer symptoms, regardless of whether they are smokers, ex-smokers or people who never touched a cigarette in their lifetime. Prof Johan F. Vansteenkiste, Head of Clinic at the Respiratory Oncology Unit of UZ Leuven explains: “Anyone with lungs can get lung cancer. It is essential that anyone with persistent symptoms consults their general practitioner as soon as possible. By ignoring unexplained symptoms and not getting checked in time, people increase the risk of potential late-stage diagnosis.”
Early warning signs
In recent years, there has been an increase of late-stage diagnosis because people ignore common symptoms such as persistent cough, breathing difficulties, pain, fatigue and weight loss among others [2]. When those symptoms persist, people should consult their general practitioner, who will refer them to a specialist if needed. Prof Vansteenkiste explains: “Early detection can dramatically improve the choice of treatment options and therefore both quality of life and life expectancy.” Medical history, imaging tests, laboratory tests, biopsies and biomarker tests will enable a specialist to diagnose lung cancer and determine whether it has spread to other parts of the body. Some of these tests will help determine the stage of the lung cancer at diagnosis and help the specialist determine which treatment options might work best for the patient.
Types of lung cancer
Lung cancer arises from cells in the lung that have grown abnormally and multiplied to form a tumor. Depending on the way these abnormal cells look, two forms of lung cancer are differentiated. Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) represents around 20 to 25% of cases in Belgium and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) representing 75 to 80% of cases [3]. The classification system (ranging from stage I to stage IV) is based on tumor size, how much it has spread into lymph nodes, and whether there is another tumor in the body that can be related to the main tumor in the lung (metastasis).
New treatment options
Many factors can lead to lung cancer: lifestyle, environmental factors, family or personal history of lung cancer, age and predispositions [2, 4, 5]. Advances in the science of lung cancer – and ongoing clinical trials – have led to a wider array of treatment options being available to lung specialists. The last 10 years have brought new options such as targeted therapies or immuno-oncology, or combination therapies, in addition to the classical chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. Additionally, it is important to stress that in Belgium supportive, palliative, care is available for stage IV lung cancer patients. This is not to be mistaken for terminal care.
Need for more patient support
The initiators of the lung cancer awareness campaign also advocate for a stronger patient voice, highlighting the need for more support for patients and their families, but also the need for a stronger lung cancer patient representation in Belgium. Paula Koper [a] testifies “We founded our group, as we quickly realized that we didn’t fit the typical lung cancer patient profile and could benefit from the exchanges with peers, facing the same issues such as stigmatization but also severe fatigue”.
Dr. Didier Vander Steichel, Medical and Scientific Director at the Belgian Foundation against Cancer welcomes the initiative as it brings together a variety of partners to put lung cancer in the spotlight during the first national Lung Cancer Awareness Month campaign in Belgium. He concludes: “It is absolutely key to raise awareness on the different types of lung cancers and their risk factors. Tobacco remains the main avoidable cause of lung cancer, but it is a little-known fact that 20% of people confronted with lung cancer never smoked [4].”
Information resources and support
For more information about lung cancer, its causes, symptoms, examinations and treatments, please visit the dedicated pages of Fondation contre le Cancer / Stichting tegen Kanker or Kom op tegen Kanker. Patients and caregivers looking for support can reach out to: VAINCRE, ALK Positive Belgium or LuCE (Lung Cancer Europe).
About Lung Cancer Awareness Month
Lung Cancer Awareness Month takes place annually in November in many countries around the world. It encourages people to reduce the risk of lung cancer by increasing awareness of symptoms and risk factors, understanding of lung cancer and the importance of screening and early detection. It is also a time to highlight the ongoing research and scientific advances made to provide more treatment options and ultimately better outcomes for patients living with lung cancer.
The ambition of the partners that started this lung cancer initiative is to set thematic priorities, supported by each of the stakeholders, in the fight against lung cancer. By leveraging the collaboration between patient organizations, patient representatives, healthcare professionals, policy and industry, the lung cancer initiative aims to address those areas where patient needs are the highest. The partners who actively participated in the co-creation of this initiative include patient groups (Vaincre, ALK Positive Belgium, LuCE), healthcare professionals & academic centres (UZ Leuven, UZ Gent, UCL – Saint-Luc, AZ Delta, AZ Vesalius), national & regional organizations (Fondation contre le Cancer/Stichting tegen Kanker, Kom op tegen Kanker, BeRS, AFBOT, LLCG and REO Update) and pharma industry (AstraZeneca, Janssen, MSD & Roche).
Additional information about lung cancer types:
There are three major types of NSCLC: adenocarcinoma, squamous cell lung cancer (also called epidermoid carcinoma) and large cell lung cancer. Less common types of lung cancer include pleomorphic, carcinoid tumor, salivary gland carcinoma, and unclassified carcinoma.
[a] Paula Koper is a patient representative from ALK Positive Belgium, a patient association representing patients with a specific genetic translocation which occurs only in approximately 5% of lung cancers (https://www.alkpositive.org/what-is-alk)
[1] https://kankerregister.org/statistieken_tabellen_jaarbasis (C34) accessed on 10/2021
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6318240/pdf/12325_2018_Article_843.pdf accessed on 10/2021
[3] https://www.cancer.be/les-cancers/types-de-cancers/cancer-du-poumon accessed on 10/2021
[4] https://www.cancer.org/cancer/lung-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/risk-factors.html accessed on 10/2021
[5] https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/48/3/889 accessed on 10/2021
