Health experts share the latest advancements in lung cancer treatment at a recent scientific symposium held both in Hà Nội and HCM City. — Photo courtesy of the organiser

HCM CITY — Health experts discussed the latest advances in lung cancer treatment, particularly targeted therapy and immunotherapy, at a recent scientific symposium held in both Hà Nội and HCM City.

The forum, titled A New Era in Lung Cancer Treatment: Realising the Goal of Cure with Targeted and Immunotherapy, was organised by the Vietnam Cancer Association in collaboration with AstraZeneca Vietnam.

According to the 2022 Globocan report, lung cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in Việt Nam, with more than 24,000 new cases and over 22,000 deaths each year. Notably, limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) is a rapidly progressing form of the disease, prone to metastasis and associated with a poor prognosis.

Meanwhile, unresectable Stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately 15–20 per cent of all cases. It represents a complex, difficult-to-treat patient population that imposes a significant economic burden, with the total cost of late-stage treatment in Việt Nam estimated at over VNĐ684 billion (US$26 million) in 2020. Despite the common use of chemoradiotherapy (CRT), recurrence and metastasis rates remain high, highlighting the urgent need for more advanced therapeutic solutions.

At the event, participants heard that immunotherapy and targeted therapies are emerging as new approaches, particularly for patients with unresectable disease.

Two prominent studies introduced at the symposium are ADRIATIC for limited-stage small cell lung cancer and LAURA for Stage III non-small cell lung cancer with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) mutations. These studies emphasise consolidation therapy following chemoradiotherapy to prolong disease control and improve patient outcomes.

Specifically, findings from the ADRIATIC study show that consolidation treatment with durvalumab following chemoradiotherapy can extend median overall survival to nearly 56 months. Meanwhile, the LAURA study demonstrated that consolidation therapy with osimertinib significantly prolongs progression-free survival, with a median of 39.1 months compared with 5.6 months in the placebo group, while also reducing the risk of central nervous system metastases.

Overall, these findings highlight the potential of post-chemoradiotherapy consolidation strategies to enhance long-term disease control and improve quality of life for patients.

Dr Đỗ Hùng Kiên, Deputy Medical Director and Head of Internal Medicine Department 1 at K Hospital, said that most lung cancer patients in Việt Nam are still diagnosed at a late stage, while access to consolidation therapy following chemoradiotherapy remains limited, resulting in high rates of recurrence and metastasis.

“In practice, appropriate patient selection and the timely initiation of consolidation therapy can significantly improve survival outcomes. In particular, early EGFR mutation testing and the standardisation of treatment pathways from the outset will help ensure that the golden window for treatment is not missed.”

To effectively implement these strategies moving forward, close multidisciplinary collaboration, strengthened diagnostic capacity and the development of patient management models tailored to Việt Nam’s health care context will be essential,” Dr Kiên said.

The symposium served as a vital forum for local and international experts to share experiences in establishing standardised treatment pathways, utilising real-world data and optimising patient management.

These efforts aim to refine approaches in the Vietnamese context, enhancing treatment quality, streamlining care pathways and expanding access to advanced therapies, with the goal of improving both survival outcomes and quality of life for lung cancer patients nationwide. — VNS