Late diagnosis gives little chance of curing lung cancer

Through the Data Cancer 360º platform, the Lado a Lado pela Vida Institute analyzed 14,145 diagnoses registered in the Unified Health System (SUS) in 2023 and discovered that among the cases that had the identified staging, that is, the assessment of the location, extent and spread of cancer in the body, 89.6%, or the equivalent of 7,267 patients, were already diagnosed at stage 3 (2,015 people) or 4 (5,252), when there is little chance of a cure.

Only 698 patients (10.4%) discovered the tumor in the early stages, 307 in stage 1 and 391 in stage 2.

For the oncologist, this increase in the number of diagnoses is caused mainly by an increasing exposure to risk factors, such as smoking, physical inactivity, obesity and poor diet.

"This obviously exposes the Brazilian population increasingly to the risk of developing cancer. Lung cancer is one of the most common," he warned, in an interview with Agência Brasil.

The doctor recommends that all people, especially those with risk factors, such as smokers and ex-smokers, should have an annual CT scan.

"This annual tomography is available in the SUS. It is completely possible to have a tomography", he recalls.

He emphasizes, however, that there is a problem related to the disease. There is no screening program for the prevention and early diagnosis of tumors, such as lung cancer.

"And this disease, as it is a silent disease, when symptoms occur, they show a common form for other secondary symptoms such as, for example, cough, slight shortness of breath, sometimes a condition that simulates an infection, bronchitis, asthma, flu. This causes people to delay the diagnosis", he said.

Alarm

The study by the Instituto Lado a Lado pela Vida exposes an even more alarming situation, because it shows that almost 90% of patients who arrive at the SUS, with a diagnosis of lung cancer or a suspected diagnosis, are already in very advanced stages.

“What is already critical worldwide, in Brazil it is around 90%, and exposes exactly these bottlenecks in access to the SUS”, warns the oncologist.

Igor Morbeck argues that the right thing to do would be for the population to take precautions, especially smokers who continue smoking and even those who have stopped smoking in the last 15 years.

This is also a warning from medical societies in Brazil, such as cardiology, oncology, among others.

The doctor regretted, however, that “public policies are not going in the same direction, because there is no such program”.

“Patients are really vulnerable, only seeking basic health services when they have symptoms, and the delay in diagnosis when they seek the basic health system, primary care, is even greater”, he states.

The study also highlights the quality of public oncological information, which in 40% of cases does not indicate the size of the tumor or whether it has metastasized to other organs. This occurs, according to Igor Morbeck, because it is necessary to have a CT scan.

Of the total diagnoses analyzed, 3,857 staging records were classified as unknown and 2,100 as not applicable.

According to the oncologist, a simple chest X-ray is completely inadequate for evaluating lung cancer. He remembers that in many cases, people go to a health center and only have a chest X-ray exam and are unable to make a diagnosis.

“And these patients often go home with medication, with antibiotics, and the disease only gets worse.”

Igor Morbeck assesses that, unfortunately, this is a very common reality in any part of Brazil, especially in the Southeast Region, which is more populous.

“In the South there are also patients who smoke and, certainly, this region has a higher incidence of lung cancer than others”, he pointed out.

Smoking is also the main risk factor for young people who use electronic cigarettes and are becoming addicted more quickly, while also fueling a very serious future problem.

Campaign

The doctor emphasizes that an awareness campaign must be carried out within the Ministry of Health itself, with health agents who can now schedule a CT scan within families that have identified risk factors, including the number of smokers at home, so that diagnosis can be made early.

“This could save many millions of reais for the Ministry of Health”, highlights the doctor.

“A patient who needs surgery is very different from another patient who needs to be treated for lung cancer throughout their life.”

The National Cancer Institute (Inca) estimates that between 2026 and 2028, 35,380 new cases of lung cancer will appear in Brazil each year. In 2024, the disease killed 32,555 people in the country.

Although smoking remains the main single cause of lung cancer, related to around 85% of cases, factors such as air pollution, occupational exposure to chemical agents, genetic predisposition and previous chronic lung diseases require a much broader screening and clinical investigation strategy, assures the Lado a Lado pela Vida Institute.

Breathe August

A patient at the Lado a Lado pela Vida Institute, Mônica Chain Montone had lung cancer for the first time in 2008 and a recurrence in 2010.

“But I managed to treat myself and have been cured since 2010.”

Mônica told Agência Brasil that smoking was the cause of the cancer she faced, even though she stopped smoking 10 years ago. Therefore, she defends a public policy to be installed in the country so that people can carry out preventive exams on smokers and ex-smokers, precisely to prevent the disease.

When she first had lung cancer, Mônica had a piece of her lung removed. At the time, doctors said that the probability of a cure, as the disease had been discovered