Boehringer Ingelheim sheds light on 2nd generation lung cancer treatment and stronger patient outcomes
-Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, accounting for 1.61 million new cases annually and representing 12.7% of all new cancers. It is also the most common cause of death from cancer, with 1.38 million deaths (18.2% of the total)[1]
-In Saudi Arabia, lung cancer ranks fifth among male population and thirteenth among female population2.
-In 2010, it affected 292 (73.6%) males and 105 (26.4%) females with a male to female ratio of 279:1002.
Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to improve patient outcomes and transform the lives of people with lung cancer in Saudi Arabia through the new 2nd generation medications
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - 13 May 2016: Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, recently discussed lung cancer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at an event held in collaboration with the Saudi Cancer Foundation as well as the Saudi Oncology Society. The event, which included over than 100 oncologists from the KSA, aimed at highlighting the value of second generation targeted therapies for lung cancer patients.
Oncologists stressed that lung cancer is not only one disease and can be categorized in two subtypes – non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). NSCLC is the most common form worldwide with approximately 85 per cent and can be further divided into three types. Furthermore, new studies showed that the treatment increases the overall survival and delays the advancement of lung cancer tumors for patients, while improving overall symptoms.
Experts also discussed the challenges of the treatment for NSCLC, since chemotherapy for an advanced level of this disease has reached a plateau.The discussion focused on the importance of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) testing and the benefits of targeted therapies that are able to act on specific molecular structures or according to the mutation subtype.
Dr. Turki Al-Fayea, Consultant of Internal Medicine & Adult Medical Oncology at the Princess Noora Oncology Center, Said: “In Saudi Arabia, lung cancer ranks fifth among male population and thirteenth among female population. In 2010, it affected 292 (73.6%) males and 105 (26.4%) females with a male to female ratio of 279:100. The overall age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) was 4/100,000. ASR was 5.8/100,000 for males and 2.1/100,000 for females2”.
LUX-Lung 7, a global head-to-head trial comparing current treatment with the new Boehringer Ingelheim 2nd generation targeted therapy for patients whose tumors harbour the most common EGFR mutations3.
Results from the LUX-Lung 7 trial showed that the new Boehringer Ingelheim treatment significantly reduced the risk of lung cancer progression by 27% versus the other one (1st generation targeted therapy) .3 The improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) became more pronounced over time.4After two years of treatment, more than twice as many patients on Boehringer Ingelheim treatment were alive and progression free than those on the other treatment in the trial3.
Dr. Jamal Eddin Zekri, Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Department of Oncology in King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre Jeddah and Associate Professor at AL-FAISAL University said, “Lung cancer is a common form of cancer worldwide causing loss of many lives. Contrary to previous concepts, lung cancer isn’t just one disease. Recent research has shown that there are many different types of lung cancer requiring specifically different treatment approaches. One distinct type of lung cancer is defined by mutations in EGFR. Patients with EGFR positive lung cancer now have new treatment options targeting these mutations and leading to much improved outcome compared to standard chemotherapy.”
Mohammed Al-Tawil, General Manager, Near East Middle Africa (NEMA) at Boehringer Ingelheim said, “Cancer has become an increasing global burden. Bringing our oncology research and innovative targeted therapies to the kingdom will have an extensive effect on the advancement of lung cancer treatments in Saudi Arabia. We are keen to mirror the vision of Boehringer Ingelheim globally in KSA to address the unmet medical needs of people living with cancer, chronic and rare diseases.”
Dr Sherif Khattab, Head of Oncology, Boehringer Ingelheim Middle East, Turkey and Africa said, “At Boehringer Ingelheim, we are passionate about the discovery and development of innovative methods to support patients’ clinical outcomes. We seek to provide a broad range of new therapies as well as practical solutions to advance the care of lung cancer patients in Saudi Arabia. We are investing strongly in our lung cancer pipeline, and together with the oncology community in Saudi Arabia, we aim to develop better treatment options for these patients. All of our efforts are to continuously improve cancer care, offer more and better therapy options, and help ensure access for patients who need our therapies.”
Boehringer Ingelheim’s medical events aim at encouraging and driving early detection of cancer through disease awareness and timely diagnosis initiatives to clinical research with an underlying objective to ensuring patients across the region to access needed targeted medicines that deliver real outcomes for people living with cancer.