New Report Shows That Despite Poor Survival Rates Lung Cancer is not Prioritized in Europe

Stockholm (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Report Benchmarks the Current State of Lung Cancer Care Across
Europe

The fragmented organization and management of lung cancer
diagnosis and care in many European countries are exacerbating
already poor survival rates amongst patients with the disease. That
is the conclusion of a new report from a group of leading Swedish
researchers published on http://www.comparatorreports.se (1).

There is a great need to improve outcomes for patients with lung
cancer. It is the most lethal form of cancer in Europe and causes
between 15-28 per cent of all cancer deaths. The burden lung cancer
places on patients and their relatives is profound; it also places a
significant economic burden on society.

"There is a real need to improve survival and outcomes for people
with lung cancer" said Nils Wilking of the Karolinska Institutet and
primary author of the report. "We hope that this report will help
both stimulate and measure the success of developments and changes in
lung cancer services and ultimately improve patient outcomes."

Key findings in the report include:

- Late diagnosis of lung cancer is the most important factor
explaining low survival rates. Almost 90 per cent of people diagnosed
with lung cancer die within 5 years.

- Once diagnosed, the fragmented organization and management of
lung cancer care in many countries are affecting timely access for
patients to the most appropriate treatment.

- The countries in which survival is best tend to have better
provision of radiotherapy equipment, as well as better patient access
to modern lung cancer drugs.

- Lung cancer takes a relatively large share of overall
healthcare spending for cancer ranging from 6.6% in Finland to a
maximum of 9.9 per cent in Hungary. Of this, hospital care uses a
relatively large share of the direct costs, for example 93 per cent
in Germany; 86 per cent in Sweden and 77 per cent in the Netherlands.
The amount spent on ambulatory -mainly outpatient care- is much
smaller 4 per cent, 13 per cent and 9 per cent for the same countries
respectively and drug costs account for the least amount of spend,
for example 3 per cent, 1 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively.

- Apart from improving access to modern cancer drugs it is
important to introduce effective measures in prevention and early
detection through well structured and administered cancer registries
to track any changes that these and other organisational changes may
make.

The report includes data from 20 countries: Austria, Belgium, the
Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. The selection of countries was
based on available data sources as well as input from key opinion
leaders within the selected countries.

The 'Benchmarking Report of Lung Cancer Care in selected European
Countries' was undertaken through collaboration of Dr Nils Wilking of
the Karolinska Institutet, Daniel Hogberg of i3 Innovus and Professor
Bengt Jönsson of the Stockholm School of Economics. Funding was
provided to i3innovus by F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

About i3

i3, a global Ingenix company, provides integrated scientific
strategies and solutions throughout the pharmaceutical product
lifecycle. It is composed of i3 Research, a therapeutically
specialized contract research organization; i3 Drug Safety, engaged
in pharmacovigilance and epidemiology; i3 Pharma Informatics, a data,
science and technology provider of market analytics; i3 Statprobe, a
leader in comprehensive data services; i3 Pharma Resourcing, a
world-class staffing partner; and i3 Innovus, delivering the science
and solutions to achieve marketplace success. i3 helps companies gain
sharper insights that lead to better patient care. For more
information, visit http://www.i3global.com.

Notes to Editors:

- The report was researched and written by Dr Nils Wilking,
Clinical Oncologist, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden,
Daniel Högberg of i3 Innovus and Professor Bengt Jönsson, Stockholm
School of Economics.

- Lung cancer is not one disease, but several diseases, divided
into two main categories: Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) and Non Small
Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). This study mainly reports on NSCLC,
reflecting the fact that it accounts for 85% of all cases of lung
cancer.

(1) Wilking, N, Hogberg D and Jönsson B. `Benchmarking Report of
Lung Cancer Care in selected European Countries' 2008
http://www.comparatorreports.se

ots Originaltext: Roche Pharmaceuticals
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
For more information contact: Dr Nils Wilking, Phone:
+46-73-625-17-19, E-mail: nils.wilking@telia.com