Number of lung cancer incidences on rise in women, says panelists at Neuberg Centre for Genomic Medicine

• Owing to reverse smoking, high lung cancer incidences seen in women
• 80-85% of patients continue to report lung cancer at advanced stages
• Targeted tissue therapy fast becoming the best alternative to chemotherapy for cancer treatment   
• The life expectancy of lung cancer patients has increased from less than a year to 3-5 years with the help of genetic testing even in advanced Stage cancer

 India, Friday, July 30, 2021: Ahead of World Lung Cancer Day, the lung cancer experts at Neuberg Centre for Genomic Medicine Panel discussion on Lung Cancer Detection – How Late, is Late? shared the insights that lately, an increasing number of women are reporting cases of lung cancer. The lung cancer incidences in men continue to be high, however, the rising number of incidences in women has become a cause of concern.

According to experts, weight loss, sputum production, cough, coughing blood are some of the prominent symptoms of lung cancer. Once cancer spreads from the lungs, it can go to the liver causing jaundice, spread to the adrenal glands causing them to fail, resulting in a low-BP emergency, pain, and fracture in bones and stroke or seizures when cancer reaches the brain.

Consuming cigarettes, tobacco chewing, kheni, hookah, betel leaf with tobacco, reverse smoking, household, and traffic pollutants,  are the main causes of lung cancer, apart from occupational factors such as working in industries, mining sector, etc. The disease burden of tobacco-related malignancies is expected to rise by 12 percent in India in the next few years, the panelists stated.

Dr. (Brig) S. Viswanath, Medical Oncologist, Kumaran Hospital, said, “Most of the times lung cancer is mistaken for tuberculosis in the earlier stages as the symptoms of both the diseases are very similar. In both cases, a patient experiences coughing and or coughing up blood. Smoking continues to be a major cause of lung cancer, the risk of developing lung cancer in smokers versus non-smokers is 20:1. A passive smoker has an increased chance of contracting cancer than a smoker. For treating the patient at the early stage, surgery is the most important method followed by radiotherapy. Now, more advanced therapy like targeted therapy and immunotherapy options are available which increases overall survival and leads to a  better quality of life. Targeted and immunotherapies have fewer side effects compared to chemotherapy. Genetic testing has been a boon in deciding the therapy options leading to better survival rates. ”

 Dr. Jagannath Dixit, Consultant Surgical Oncology, HCG Cancer Hospital, said, “50% of the lung cancer patients die in the first year post-diagnosis. We can ensure a 14% to 20% decrease in deaths if the cancer is detected at the earlier stages. However, early symptoms are less visible, hence it is difficult to detect lung cancer at early stages. Reverse smoking has come across as a major cause of lung cancer among  rural women, especially those who work in the field in northern Karnataka.”

Dr.Dixit emphasized having multidisciplinary care for patients with cancer where surgical, medical, molecular pathologist , and genetic counselors contribute. There has been a drastic shift in the survival rate after the advent of targeted therapy and genetic testing.

Dr. Siddharth Srivastava, Chief Scientist (Molecular Oncology), Neuberg Center of Genomic Medicine, said, “Targeted therapy has emerged as an important method to treat cancer. Targeted therapies act on specific molecular targets associated with cancer, whereas most standard chemotherapies act on all rapidly dividing normal and cancerous cells, which also kill normal cells. Targeted therapy is known to cause lesser side effects as compared to chemotherapy while improving quality of life of patients.”

About Neuberg Diagnostics:

Best-in-class laboratories across India, the USA, UAE & South Africa have united under the banner of Neuberg Diagnostics, to bring the latest technology and techniques within the reach of developing countries. Utilizing their combined strengths, the Neuberg brings capabilities to perform over 6000 varieties of Pathological investigations and promotes Prevention & Early Diagnosis, Focused Wellness Programs , and Structured Disease Management programs for rare diseases using the most advanced technologies assisted by Data science and AI tools.

Today, Neuberg Diagnostics is among the top diagnostics companies of Indian origin and the fastest growing healthcare start-up in India. With 18 approved labs for Covid testing in India, the USA , and South Africa, the group has more than 65000 COVID testing capacity in India. Some of the best Pathologists, Biochemists, Geneticists, Microbiologists , and several other Clinical Lab Professionals from around the world are working closely, sharing knowledge and using the latest generation of diagnostics techniques to take accurate and timely diagnoses to the next level.

Currently , the group has over 120 labs and over 1000 touchpoints across 4 countries. Our Indian Expansion plans include setting up a network of 500 collection centers across the country within the next 12 months. Our overseas expansion plans include establishing a presence in East Africa, West Africa, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, the USA and Germany.

Neuberg also provides Hospital Laboratory Management Services, Preventive Health Checks, Corporate Wellness, Home Health Services and Drive through Phlebotomy Services.