PROMOTED CONTENT
progress. This includes highly effective new treatments for advanced disease stages that can provide long-term disease control. Progress in surgery, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapies and genetic testing enables physicians to target and treat breast cancer more precisely, thus significantly improving patient outcomes and quality of life. Advancing medical progress is a major challenge. Another is access; the latter is key to ensuring that medical advances improve the lives of as many women with cancer as possible. It is up to all of us – pharma companies, regulators, medical authorities and healthcare professionals – to create a framework that provides timely access to innovation and optimal support for people living with cancer. Due to a lack of medical infrastructure and universal health coverage in some parts of the world, cancer patients do not receive the best possible care, and global survival rates reflect these differences. Five-year post-diagnosis breast cancer survival rates range from more than 90% in high-income countries to 66% in India and 40% in South Africa. 8 PREVENTION AND COLLABORATION In this context, it is important to point out the significance of prevention and early detection. As the World Health Organization states, prevention offers the most cost-effective long-term strategy for the control of cancer. 9 The German initiative Vision Zero emphasises prevention and aims to eliminate all preventable cancer-related deaths. 10 The family medical history also plays a role since 5–10% of breast cancer cases are thought to be hereditary. 11 Understanding a family medical history can help with early detection by providing information to better assess an individual’s cancer risk. Another powerful tool against cancer is collaboration and health literacy. Academia, life sciences companies, policymakers and patient groups need to pull together to provide the best possible cancer care. At Daiichi Sankyo, we believe that the standard of cancer care can be fundamentally improved by collaborating with like-minded organisations, care groups and individuals who share our passion and commitment to protecting lives and advancing cancer research. Despite significant progress in oncology research, there remain vast areas of unmet needs. We rely on exchanging ideas with other stakeholders, such as patient groups, to better understand how we can meet their needs and expectations. And we understand that dealing with cancer is an existential challenge for patients and their families. Cancer strongly impacted my life when my father died of colon cancer. I was a 21-year-old medical student at the time, and to this day, that experience remains a source of motivation for my oncology work. Successful research is essential for continued medical progress. Another crucial element is speed. I believe that pharma companies, regulatory bodies and reimbursement institutions must work to keep pace with scientific innovations. A recent study by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations shows us that there is still room for
MARKUS KOSCH Markus Kosch is head of oncology for Europe and Canada at Daiichi Sankyo. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Münster, Germany, where he still teaches as a professor of medicine. He worked at the University Hospital Münster until 2005 in the areas of internal medicine, intensive care and oncology. He has more than 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and is a founding member of the Vision Zero cancer prevention initiative.
improvement: in 2022, the average duration from approval to access for new oncology drugs in the EU was 526 days. 12 For patients with cancer, particularly those in an advanced tumour stage, every day counts. I have learned there are many ways to improve how we manage cancer. Above all, it takes determination. A clear focus is needed to ensure that cancer care is a top priority for societies. We might be far away from a world without cancer deaths, but I strongly believe that with ongoing research, new treatments and intensive collaboration, cancer can be a chronic or cured condition for many patients. Let’s work together to create a new reality where cancer is less of a burden for patients, their loved ones and society. ▪ 1 iarc.who.int/featured-news/latest-global-cancer-data-cancer-burden-rises-to-19-3-million-new-cases- and-10-0-million-cancer-deaths-in-2020 2 iarc.who.int/faq/latest-global-cancer-data-2020-qa 3 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32986516 4 iarc.who.int/faq/latest-global-cancer-data-2020-qa; canceratlas.cancer.org/the-burden/europe 5 ecis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pdf/Breast_cancer_factsheet-Oct_2020.pdf 6 nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-facts; ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/projects/ success-stories/all/improving-cancer-screening-across-europe 7 ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/projects/success-stories/all/improving-cancer-screening- across-europe 8 who.int/initiatives/global-breast-cancer-initiative 9 who.int/activities/preventing-cancer 10 vision-zero-oncology.de/vision.php 11 cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/risk-and-prevention/breast-cancer-risk-factors-you-cannot- change.html 12 https://efpia.eu/media/s4qf1eqo/efpia_patient_wait_indicator_final_report.pdf
This article was funded and written by Daiichi Sankyo Europe Document numbers ONP/23/0215 | ONP/23/0214
117
Health: A Political Choice – From Fragmentation to Integration
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online