Oncologists demand gender differentiation in lung cancer clinical trials

Head of the Department of Oncology at the University Hospital of La Paz and vice-president of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), Javier de Castro, demanded this Monday at the “Women’s Lung Cancer Day” that clinical trials for lung cancer be more likely to be counted. “differential nature” between the sexes so that its results can be applied specifically to male and female patients.

As part of the International Lung Cancer Day, which is celebrated on November 17, the Spanish Association of Lung Cancer Patients (AEACaP) and the Health Observatory organized an information meeting at the University Hospital of La Paz (Madrid) to report on lung cancer in women, which is already a leading leading cause of cancer deaths in women in the West, even surpassing breast cancer.

During his speech, de Castro explained that when studies are carried out on patients for this tumor, there is no difference between men and women, which may affect the treatments that are subsequently used in everyday practice. For example, he noted that the prescribed dose of drugs “cannot be the same for a young woman weighing 50 kilograms and for a 70-year-old man weighing 95 kilograms.”

This need to differentiate between the sexes when conducting research, for which the specialist emphasized the existence of scientific evidence, lies in the differential aspects, both epidemiological, clinical and other types, that exist between lung cancer in men and women. In fact, de Castro pointed out that the incidence and mortality of the disease itself have changed in recent years between both sexes, as the curve of these variables has decreased in men and increased in women.

Despite these differences, the oncologist pointed to tobacco as the main external risk factor for lung cancer. In this spirit, he detailed how tobacco industry advertising at the end of the last century began to target women, making them understand that smoking would make them “freer” or “happier,” which contributed to the rise in women’s numbers. number of smokers and this type of cancer.

Regarding smoking, de Castro also emphasized that women start smoking at a “very early age” due to exposure to content they see on social media about the link between tobacco and weight control. In addition, he noted that it is now known that if a mother smokes, the likelihood that her daughter will do so increases five times.

“It’s something we have to start condemning, we’ve been doing it for years, but we also have to start working from the very early stages in schools, in schools we may have to start nurturing it in children aged six or eight. years, because this is where we must stop the problem,” the expert said.

In addition, de Castro emphasized that there are cases where non-smoking women have been diagnosed with lung cancer. In this regard, he noted that there are other risk factors, such as exposure to radon, environmental pollution or, in the specific case of women, hormonal factors. “Estrogen or progesterone can cause many types of lung cancer. Unfortunately, it has not been observed that with the help of hormonal control we can solve or stop this problem,” he clarified.

The oncologist highlighted as positive aspects that the survival rate for lung cancer in women is higher than in men, and they also have better postoperative results and recovery times. However, he stated that “the fundamental problem with lung cancer in women is that it is detected late.”

LATE DIAGNOSIS

In this sense, during the round table “Current and future problems of lung cancer in women,” the head of the medical oncology service of the University Hospital on October 12, Luis Paz Ares, noted that “there is still a lot to be done.” “in the field of early diagnosis, since, for example, it is known that having a “screening” program for this disease will help “in a very important way to reduce mortality.”

“When we have a clinical problem, we try to figure out how to solve it. Once we get results from experimental or clinical studies and are told how we can help solve them, we need to translate those results into clinical practice to help people, patients, society. This is something that, unfortunately, we have not done in the area of ​​lung cancer screening,” Paz explained.

It is about the need to bring the latest diagnostic technologies to all patients that the head of the medical oncology service at the Lozano Blesa University Clinical Hospital in Zaragoza and the president of the Association for the Study of Lung Cancer in Women (Icapem), Dolores Isla, speaks. indicated that “not all hospitals may have the latest technology, but we can operate as a network.”

Currently, the head of the medical oncology service at the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, Pilar Garrido, listed three key aspects to guarantee patients access to innovation. First, scientific knowledge that “confirms” that it is a “necessity”; then political commitment, since it is political leaders who develop health policy; and finally the social impulse of female patients and patient associations.

To be able to implement diagnostic methods in hospitals, doctor Isabel Esteban Rodriguez, a specialist in pathological anatomy at the University Hospital of La Paz, noted that another “problem” that needs to be solved is the integration into the staff of the centers. biologists and computer scientists, of whom the professionals use “many hands” to interpret all these methods. Likewise, he asked for more staffing to improve patient care, reduce wait times, etc.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HUMANIZATION OF HEALTHCARE

During another roundtable on “Humanizing Health Care,” Esther Rey, Director of Nursing at the University Hospital of La Paz, explained the changes that have been made to the day hospital to include facilities that provide greater “comfort,” “friendliness,” and “closeness” to patients who have to spend long hours in waiting rooms.

He also noted the value of their yoga, mindfulness, skin care and makeup workshops on the emotional well-being of patients.

For her part, the representative of the Spanish Association of People Suffering from Lung Cancer, Stefanie Oyonarte da Rocha, who has also been a patient for eight years, noted about these humanization actions that in her hospital they painted several orange trees in the corridors and “One it forces you to come in differently.”

Among the problems identified by the association, Oyonarte highlighted the need for more psychological support and emotional support, since consultation with a psycho-oncologist usually occurs every two months. “The patient does not have the option of getting a consultation every two months or every month, he needs a consultation every week,” he said.

Likewise, it required more healthcare resources, more staff, and more time for oncologists to devote attention to each patient.