One hundred deaths a day from lung cancer in Italy, around 30 thousand a year. The 5-year survival rate is 16% and an estimated 41,500 new lung cancer diagnoses are expected in the next few years, 30% of them among women. The 2020 Artium Aiom data - the latest made available - show over 10,200 new cases of malignant tumors in Sardinia for 2019 (10 thousand in 2018, six thousand men and 4,200 women).
In Italy every day around a thousand people receive a new diagnosis of malignant tumor, 28 in Sardinia. In men, excluding skin cancers (non-melanomas), colorectal and prostate cancer prevail (each accounting for 17% of all diagnosed cancers). Lung cancer follows with 12%, bladder cancer with 8%. The pathology in Italy costs around 2.5 billion euros (health costs and indirect and social costs, Mennini et al. 2019). With 8-9 out of 10 lung cancers, cigarette smoking is the main risk factor, followed by occupational exposure to asbestos, radon and heavy metals.
«It is urgent to have effective means of primary prevention, personalized by age and type of subject, and secondary prevention. The use of spiral CT in subjects at risk has reduced mortality and must therefore be rapidly implemented in our healthcare system, with its inclusion in the Lea", explains Michele Boero, director of nuclear medicine at Arnas Brotzu and scientific director of the conference "In pole position - Progress in the fight against lung cancer in Sardinia: prospects and challenges", which will be held at Caesar's hotel on Thursday 23 November, from 2pm.
During the works, in which the main island specialists in the subject take part, therapeutic innovations will be discussed, from the introduction of immunotherapy and precision medicine, useful for guaranteeing patients greater quality and quantity of life.
From the parliamentary project "Challenge Cancer" we move towards the reduction of inequalities in access to cancer care in Europe, the evidence of scientific evidence on the benefits of early screening up to the recommendations on lung cancer screening of the European Oncology Plan. quality of care".
