To mark this date, national and international media outlets reported on a study conducted by the Health Technology Assessment Department (ETESA) of the IECS. The research highlights the lack of a national program to prevent and detect lung cancer early, the leading cause of cancer death in Argentina.
Every November 17th, World Lung Cancer Day is commemorated, a day that seeks to give visibility, inform and raise awareness about a disease that continues to be one of the main causes of death in the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and the leading cause of cancer death in Argentina, with 13.000 new cases and 8.400 deaths per year, according to the IECS document.
The ETS team, which conducted the research, warned that, unlike other types of cancer such as breast, colorectal, or cervical cancer, the country lacks a national program for the prevention and early detection of the disease. The research team noted that “developing a national program for prevention, early detection, and timely treatment can contribute to increased patient survival rates, reduced costs, and lessened inequities in access to the healthcare system.”
La Dr. Andrea AlcarazThe coordinator of the STI program at IECS, who led the project, points out that most lung cancer cases detected in Argentina are diagnosed at advanced stages, requiring more expensive treatments and associated with lower survival rates. The study estimated that the 13.000 new cases and 8400 deaths recorded each year cost the country $556 million annually.
The document also warns that behind every diagnosis lies an impact that affects not only people's health but also the economic and emotional stability of their families. “There are more cases in sectors with fewer socioeconomic resources, and this population receives a diagnosis later. This means that the most disadvantaged sectors are the most affected by this disease,” noted Valentina Stacco, a communications graduate and member of the research team.
In a second related study, the Dr. Andrea Alcaraz And their colleagues evaluated the real-life experiences of 131 patients diagnosed with advanced-stage lung cancer in three public hospitals and one private institution in Buenos Aires and La Plata. Forty-eight percent of participants reported a reduction in income due to the disease, 16% lost their jobs, and 68% reported “financial toxicity,” or out-of-pocket expenses that seriously impacted or exceeded their ability to pay, with a greater negative impact on those treated in the public sector.
The mission of the IECS is “to contribute to improving global health by generating and promoting the application of the best scientific evidence.” Over the years, it has conducted research on the burden of disease and death attributable to smoking in Latin America and other countries, as well as on the health and economic impact of various control policies, such as tax increases. Several of these studies have served as the basis for the enactment of laws regulating and limiting tobacco use, in addition to promoting the tobacco control agenda in the media.
Following this same line of work, the IECS developed the first Guide to Good Practices for Journalistic Coverage of Tobacco, a document that seeks to strengthen more transparent and evidence-based coverage.
These works, along with the policy brief and a graphics Developed from research, they are available in https://iecs.org.ar/cancer-de-pulmon/ and in tobacco.iecs.org.ar, two IECS websites aimed at disseminating scientific evidence on lung cancer and smoking to support better public policies, with more than 200 publications and infographics from 14 countries.