Healthcare leaders take bold step in redefining oncology for Filipino patients through ecosystem partnerships, committing to help screen at least 1 million patients for lung cancer by 2026 using AI
Health stakeholders from AstraZeneca, AC Health, and Cancer Coalition Philippines join hands in the push for early lung cancer care through innovation
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer mortality with 1.8 million deaths, worldwide.1 The global burden is reflected in the Philippines – where lung cancer is leading cause of cancer mortality that accounted for 20,953 deaths and has become the second most common cancer in terms of incidence with over 23,700 new cases in 2022.2
Lung cancer’s high mortality rate and low survival rate, both mainly determined by the stage at diagnosis, is a challenge to Filipino patients having low access for early screening. In fact, 60% of lung cancer cases are already in the advanced setting, significantly decreasing the five-year survival to 2.9%. 3,4
The earlier the disease gets diagnosed, the better the survival rate becomes, with stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) having a five-year survival rate ranging from 13% to 36%; while in stage I NSCLC, it can be as high as 68% to 92%.5
Role of Early Screening and Detection
In a recent stakeholders’ gathering, AstraZeneca, science-led, patient focused global pharmaceutical company, and AC Health, a healthcare corporation with a portfolio that includes hospitals, clinics, and digital health, further committed to collaboratively transform lung cancer outcomes by driving national action on early screening and detection, and advance quality of lung cancer care through the Lung Ambition Alliance.
“As an alliance, we stand together to better understand how lung cancer evolves, develop advanced therapeutic techniques, drive progress in the clinical management of the disease and ultimately empower and enable patients so they can live longer and better lives,” explained Ti Hwei How, Vice President, International Oncology and Market Access at AstraZeneca.
“In line with our bold ambition to eliminate lung cancer as a cause of death, AstraZeneca is committed to creating value for Filipinos beyond the impact of our life-changing medicines through early detection, education, and treatment. With our partners in the alliance, we pledge to screen at least 1 million Filipino patients by 2026 for lung cancer, enabling early intervention that will change the disease trajectory of lung cancer in the Philippines,” said Lotis Ramin, AstraZeneca Philippines Country President.
Paolo Borromeo, President and CEO of AC Health, underscored that it’s ultimately the patients who benefit when innovation comes to healthcare. “AC Medical Network and Healthway Cancer Care Hospital continue to deliver the best value oncology services because we work with some of the best partners all over the world, AstraZeneca being one of them,” he said.
AstraZeneca and AC Health have partnered with Qure.AI to bring qXR, an AI solution, a triaging tool for lung cancer screening to the Healthway Cancer Care Hospital in Taguig and Healthway Qualimed Hospital in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Through qXR, Filipino patients get a means to avail themselves of early lung cancer screening backed by the efficiency of artificial intelligence.
Qure.AI’s qXR is the world’s most widely used AI for chest screenings using a simple chest x-ray. It is a triaging tool designed to improve diagnosis, promote better efficiencies on who should be screened with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) scan, and boost optimal management of patients with lung cancer. This breakthrough tech can provide physicians with pre-read assistance in as fast as 20 seconds. The scans made via qXR can get findings on the lungs, heart, diaphragm, and bones.
Guidelines-recommended use of LDCT is established to be cost-effective and has demonstrated a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality due to diagnosis at earlier stages of the disease. While experts have recommended utilizing LDCT to screen for high-risk populations, it is still not widely implemented in routine lung cancer screening due to limited access.6
This partnership, which allows integration of AI-supported chest x-rays with LDCT would further improve cost-efficiencies and enable more opportunities for routine lung cancer screenings and early detection for lung cancer.
According to Menchie Auste, Cancer Coalition Philippines Vice President, “We’re looking at this collaboration as a bright spot in shoring up our ecosystem,” she said. “Through you, we will be able to rewrite the stories of people who have lung cancer.”
Lifestyle Management
The way forward in this fight is truly through early lung cancer intervention, explained Dr. Gerardo Cornelio, fellow of the Philippine Society for Medical Oncology. “A stage shift [has] to be done in order to have a good treatment strategy for our patients,” said Dr. Cornelio, who also serves as head of HCCH’s Lung Cancer Center of Excellence.
Aside from early screening, doctors also espoused the importance of lifestyle changes to protect one’s lungs. Atop the list of best practices is quitting smoking, or not starting at all. Stay away from secondhand smoke, too. Filipinos are also advised to stay physically active to strengthen one’s lungs. Being proactive in sticking to these good habits is essential to maintaining lung health.
Cancer Screening within the Organization
Coinciding with the partnership agreement to strengthen the Lung Ambition Alliance, AstraZeneca Philippines has also entered an understanding with AC Health that will allow eligible AstraZeneca employees to have cancer screening tests in selected AC Health facilities. This paves the way for increased access to the right cancer treatment, and better chance for survival for possible employee patients. The full rollout of the program is expected to be completed in the next two years.
The signing ceremonies between AstraZeneca and AC Health were held last 26 at Healthway Cancer Care Hospital in Arca South, Taguig City.
