BREATHING IN A NEW ERA

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LUNG CANCER POLICIES ACROSS EUROPE

Lung cancer is at a crossroads

T

he crossroads domain looks at treatment, from surgery through radiotherapy and chemotherapy,

to newer targeted therapies and immunotherapy. It also covers supportive and palliative care

and multidisciplinary teams. All countries performed relatively well in the scorecard, although there is

plenty of nuance in this domain, and healthcare systems face challenges in ensuring that they deliver

the best possible care. The best performing countries are Norway and Sweden followed by Finland, the

Netherlands and the UK. The lowest performing country is Romania.

A new hope

With technology paving the way for earlier diagnosis and new treatments offering hope to patients,

lung cancer care is at a crossroads.^46 The particular treatment that a lung cancer patient receives will

typically be based upon the stage at which the diagnosis is made (taking into account other factors

such as frailty and patient choice). Stages range from 0, a small, non-invasive tumour, to IV, the most

advanced form of the disease, in which the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Treatment can

include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

Austria Belgium Finland France Netherlands Norway Poland Romania Spain Sweden UK

Lung cancer

is at a

crossroads

Table 3: Demand vs supply of radiotherapy megavoltage machines

2012 MVM demand 2013 MVM supply % of unmet need

Austria 70 47 -32.8%

Belgium 120 92 -23.3%

Finland 51 45 -11.8%

France 676 483 -28.6%

Netherlands 170 127 -25.3%

Norway 49 41 -16.3%

Poland 272 112 -58.8%

Romania 100 23 -77.0%

Spain 374 240 -35.8%

Sweden 89 76 -14.6%

United Kingdom 599 318 -46.9%

Source: Yap, et al. Global access to radiotherapy services: have we made progress during the past decade?, Journal of Global Oncology,

2016, 2(4):207-215.

Low Moderately Low Moderate Moderately High High