Uniqueness of lung cancer in Southeast Asia
Vanita Noronha, Atul Budukh, Pankaj Chaturvedi, Anne Srikanth, Anshu Punjabi, Maheema Bhaskar, Tarini Prasad Sahoo, Nandini Menon, Minit Shah, Ullas Batra, Shrinidhi Nathany, Rajiv Kumar, Omshree Shetty, Trupti Pai Ghodke, Abhishek Mahajan, Nivedita Chakrabarty, Supriya Hait, S. C. Tripathi, Anuradha Chougule, Pratik Chandrani, Virendra Kumar Tripathi, Sabita Jiwnani, Anil Tibdewal, Guncha Maheshwari, Rushabh Kothari, Vijay Patil, Rajani Bhat, Mansi Khanderia, Vandana Mahajan, Ravi Prakash, Sanjeev Sharma, Adnan Abdul Jabbar, Bhagyashree Yadav, Aaliya Uddin, Amit Dutt, Kumar Prabhash
Abstract
Lung cancer varies between Caucasians and Asians. There have been differences recorded in the epidemiology, genomics, standard therapies and outcomes, with variations according to the geography and ethnicity which affect the decision for optimal treatment of the patients. To better understand the profile of lung cancer in Southeast Asia, with a focus on India, we have comprehensively reviewed the available data, and discuss the challenges and the way forward. A substantial proportion of patients with lung cancer in Southeast Asia are neversmokers, and adenocarcinoma is the common histopathologic subtype, found in approximately a third of the patients. EGFR mutations are noted in 23–30% of patients, and ALK rearrangements are noted in 5–7%. Therapies are similar to global standards, although access to newer modalities and molecules is a challenge. Collaborative research, political will with various policy changes and patient advocacy are urgently needed.