New Survey Reveals Startling Ignorance About Europe's Number One Cancer Killer - Lung Cancer

Basel, Switzerland (ots/PRNewswire) - Seventy percent of European
patients battling lung cancer had never regarded the disease as a
threat prior to learning of their condition, according to results
from a new pan-European public and patient survey announced on the
eve of Lung Cancer Awareness Month. This ignorance about lung cancer
is also indicative of a chronic lack of awareness about the disease.
For example, forty percent of the general public surveyed wrongly
assume that breast cancer is the most common cancer when in fact,
lung cancer is. Furthermore, not only is it the most common form of
cancer, it is the single biggest cancer killer in Europe, claiming
approximately 342,000 lives each year - that is, 937 deaths every
day.[1]

Importance of early diagnosis

Early diagnosis is crucial to improving outcomes for lung cancer
patients. It is therefore worrying that close to half of lung cancer
patients polled admitted their diagnosis was discovered by chance
during a visit to the physician for another reason. Localised cancers
(i.e., cancer that has not spread to any surrounding tissue) detected
at an early stage may be successfully treated using surgery and
radiation - up to 70 percent of patients survive for at least five
years after diagnosis if treated at this stage, with a proportion of
these patients being cured.[2]

"Lung cancer is often forgotten or simply misunderstood," explains
Dr. Jesme Fox, Medical Director of The Roy Castle Lung Cancer
Foundation and secretary of the Global Lung Cancer Coalition. "If
there is one thing that people need to know about lung cancer, it's
that early diagnosis saves lives. In particular, high risk groups,
such as smokers, need to take action if they think something is
wrong. Don't ignore symptoms - see a doctor quickly."

As symptoms often present late, the majority of lung cancer cases
are diagnosed at an advanced stage when the cancer has already spread
to other parts of the body.[2] Fewer than five percent of advanced
lung cancer patients are still alive five years after diagnosis, and
most die within six months.[2] Of the lung cancer patients surveyed,
86 percent were being treated with chemotherapy, with 83 percent
enduring debilitating side effects and a compromised quality of life
from their treatment. However, recent treatment advances are
fuelling hope amongst patients for a better quality of life. The vast
majority of lung cancer patients surveyed expressed a desire for
treatment that would improve their general well-being, aid their
ability to continue living normal lives and enable them to spend
time with their families.

Recent advances in lung cancer treatment

"Treatment options for lung cancer patients have come a long way
in the last ten years," says Professor Giuseppe Giaccone, Professor
of Oncology and Head of the Department of Medical Oncology at Vrije
Universiteit Medical Center, Amsterdam. "A diagnosis of lung cancer
does not have to mean the end of optimism. There are nowadays many
more treatment options available."

Although this may be the case, only 14 percent of European lung
cancer patients are benefiting from newer treatments, despite the
common belief that patients should receive the best option in care.

Recent advances in the treatment of lung cancer have widened
therapeutic options. Two of the newest treatments for non-small cell
lung cancer (NSCLC) patients are Tarceva(R) and Avastin(R). NSCLC is
the most common form of lung cancer, accounting for approximately 80
percent of all cases.[2] Tarceva, an oral treatment for NSCLC
patients who have failed at least one prior chemotherapy regimen,
works differently than conventional chemotherapy by specifically
targeting tumour cells. It avoids the typical side-effects of
chemotherapy. Avastin, an innovative treatment that works by starving
the tumour of the blood supply that is critical to its growth and
spread, has recently filed for approval in the EU and was approved in
combination with chemotherapy (carboplatin plus paclitaxel) in the US
for the treatment of previously untreated patients with advanced
NSCLC[i] in October this year.

About the survey

The survey consisted of two arms: one involving the general public
and another involving lung cancer patients only. The survey was
conducted online amongst 1,270 members of the general public and 157
lung cancer patients in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK.
Respondents from the general public were an even spread of genders
and ages (all respondents were at least 30 years old) and were
screened to ensure they were not suffering from and had never
suffered previously from lung cancer. All patients surveyed were
currently receiving treatment for their condition.

Notes to Editors

Survey highlights

Low Awareness (results of general public survey)

- Given the severity of lung cancer, it is surprising to see that
70 % of Europeans are not concerned about developing lung cancer

- 39% of respondents know of someone who currently suffers or has
recently suffered from lung cancer

- Over a quarter of respondents (26%) have a family member who has
ever suffered from lung cancer

- 81% of respondents do not know the treatment that their family
member received for their lung cancer

- 40 % of Europeans believe breast cancer to be the most prevalent
form of cancer, yet in truth lung cancer is Europe's number one
cancer killer as well as the most common form of cancer

Low Awareness (results of patient survey)

- 50 % of lung cancer patients live with symptoms for up to a
month before seeking professional advice. Symptoms include:

- Shortness of breath and / or wheezing[3]

- Chronic cough[3] and / or repeated bouts of bronchitis[4]

- Hoarseness of voice[3]

- Coughing up blood[5]

- Weight loss and loss of appetite with no known reason[3]

- Chest pain[3]

Current Treatment

- A majority of the general public are unaware of the severity of
a lung cancer diagnosis, with only 42% of respondents agreeing that
lung cancer is the most deadly form of cancer. In fact, most patients
are no longer alive within 12 months of diagnosis due to symptoms
which often do not present themselves until the advanced stages of
the disease[2].

- 83 % of lung cancer patients experienced adverse side effects
with current treatments

- Approximately 40 % of those surveyed had reservations about
receiving chemotherapy because of the side effects associated with it

- 61 % of the general public believe that patients should receive
the best available treatment

- Patients with lung cancer are looking for a lung cancer
treatment that extend their lives, improves their general well-being
and ability to perform daily tasks

About Tarceva

Tarceva is a novel therapy for patients with locally advanced or
metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after failure of at
least one prior chemotherapy regimen. It is an oral tablet taken once
a day and has the potential to treat many types of solid tumours.
Tarceva has been approved in the European Union since September 2005
and in the US since November 2004. Tarceva works differently to
chemotherapy by specifically targeting tumour cells and inhibiting
their formation and growth. It is a small molecule that targets the
human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway. The epidermal
growth factor, also known as HER1, is a key component of this
signalling pathway, which plays a key role in the formation and
growth of numerous cancers. Tarceva blocks tumour cell growth by
inhibiting the activity of a specific enzyme, tyrosine kinase, which
is part of the EGFR inside the cell. This prevents continued cell
growth. Tarceva is the only EGFR-inhibitor to have demonstrated a
survival benefit in lung cancer. Currently most people with lung
cancer are treated with chemotherapy which can be very debilitating
due to its toxic nature. Tarceva works differently to chemotherapy by
specifically targeting tumour cells, so avoiding the typical
side-effects of chemotherapy.

About Avastin

Avastin(R) (bevacizumab) is the first monoclonal antibody in a
first-line setting to be shown to prolong the life of patients with
advanced NSCLC. Avastin targets angiogenesis, the growth of new blood
vessels within and around a tumour, starving the tumour of the blood
supply that is critical to its growth and spread throughout the body.

Avastin was approved in the EU in January 2005 and in the US in
February 2004 for the first-line treatment of patients with
metastatic colorectal cancer in combination with intravenous
5-FU-based chemotherapy. It received another approval in the US in
June 2006 as a second-line treatment for patients with metastatic
colorectal cancer in combination with intravenous 5-FU-based
chemotherapy. Avastin received approval in the United States for the
treatment of previously untreated, non-squamous NSCLC in October
2006, and a dossier for the approval of Avastin in metastatic NSCLC
with histology other than predominant squamous cell was submitted to
the European authorities in August this year.

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's
leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of
pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As a supplier of innovative products
and services for the early detection, prevention, diagnosis and
treatment of disease, the Group contributes on a broad range of
fronts to improving people's health and quality of life. Roche is a
world leader in diagnostics, the leading supplier of medicines for
cancer and transplantation and a market leader in virology. In 2005
sales by the Pharmaceuticals Division totalled 27.3 billion Swiss
francs, and the Diagnostics Division posted sales of 8.2 billion
Swiss francs. Roche employs roughly 70,000 people in 150 countries
and has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with numerous
partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and
Chugai. Additional information about the Roche Group is available on
the Internet (www.roche.com).

Additional information

- Lung Cancer: www.roche.com/med_mbackgrlungcancer.pdf

- Roche in Oncology: www.roche.com/mboncology-e.pdf

- Roche Health Kiosk, Cancer: www.health-kiosk.ch/start_krebs

- Avastin: http://www.avastin-info.com

- Tarceva : http://www.tarceva.net

References:

[i] Unresectable locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic
non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

1. Boyle P and Ferlay J. Cancer incidence and mortality in
Europe, 2004. Annal Oncol:16;481-488, 2005

2. Wilking N and Jonsson B. A Pan-European comparison regarding
patient access to cancer drugs. Karolinska Institute in collaboration
with Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden, 2005

3. Stewart BW and Kleihues P. World Cancer Report. IARC Press,
Lyon, pp.183-87, 2003

4. Al-Wadei HA, Takahasi T, Schuller HM. PKA-dependent growth
stimulation of cells derived from human pulmonary adenocarcinoma and
small airway epithelium by dexamethasone. European Journal of Cancer
41(17):2745-53. Nov, 2005

5. Hamilton W, Peters TJ, Round A, Sharp D. What are the clinical
features of lung cancer before the diagnosis is made? A population
based case-control study. Thorax, 2005

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

Contact:
For further information please contact: Nina Schwab-Hautzinger at
Roche, Telephone: +41-61-688-1365, Patty Lee at Roche: Telephone:
+41-61-687-5273