Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality, claiming the lives of 1.8 million people worldwide each year.  In response to this critical health issue, Healthway Cancer Care Hospital in Arca South, Taguig, signed a memorandum to integrate AI into its systyems for early lung cancer detection.

Survivability depends on early screening. According to the press release they have provided to us, mortality rate is high, mainly due to Filipino patients' low access for early screening. 60% of lung cancer cases are already in the advanced setting. 

In a recent stakeholders’ gathering, AstraZeneca, science-led, patient focused global pharmaceutical company, and AC Health, a healthcare corporation with a portfolio that includes hospitals, clinics, and digital health, further committed to collaboratively transform lung cancer outcomes by driving national action on early screening and detection, and advance quality of lung cancer care through the Lung Ambition Alliance. 

“As an alliance, we stand together to better understand how lung cancer evolves, develop advanced therapeutic techniques, drive progress in the clinical management of the disease and ultimately empower and enable patients so they can live longer and better lives,” said Ti Hwei How, Vice President, international oncology and market access at AstraZeneca. 

“In line with our bold ambition to eliminate lung cancer as a cause of death, AstraZeneca is committed to creating value for Filipinos beyond the impact of our life-changing medicines through early detection, education, and treatment. With our partners in the alliance, we pledge to screen at least 1 million Filipino patients by 2026 for lung cancer, enabling early intervention that will change disease trajectory of lung cancer in the Philippines,” said Lotis Ramin, AstraZeneca Philippines country president.

Paolo Borromeo, president and CEO of AC Health, underscored that it's ultimately the patients who benefit when innovation comes to healthcare. He said: “AC Medical Network and Healthway Cancer Care Hospital continue to deliver the best value oncology services because we work with some of the best partners all over the world, AstraZeneca being one of them.  

To improve early lung cancer detection in the Philippines, AstraZeneca and AC Health have partnered with Qure.ai. This collaboration brings qXR, an AI-powered triaging tool, to Healthway Cancer Care Hospital in Taguig and Healthway Qualimed Hospital in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. With qXR, Filipino patients now have access to a more efficient and potentially life-saving approach to early lung cancer screening.

Qure.AI's qXR leverages artificial intelligence to analyze chest X-rays. This innovative triaging tool aims to improve lung cancer diagnoses, identify patients who might benefit from further evaluation with a low-dose CT (LDCT) scan and support optimal management of lung cancer patients.

Remarkably, qXR can provide physicians with pre-readings in as fast as 20 seconds. Additionally, chest X-rays analyzed by qXR can reveal findings in the lungs, heart, diaphragm, and bones.

Guidelines-recommended use of LDCT is established to be cost-effective and has demonstrated a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality due to diagnosis at earlier stages of the disease. While experts have recommended utilizing LDCT to screen for high-risk populations, it is still not widely implemented in routine lung cancer screening due to limited access.

This partnership, which allows integration of AI-supported chest x-rays with LDCT would further improve cost-efficiencies and enable more opportunities for routine lung cancer screenings and early detection for lung cancer. 

According to Menchie Auste, Cancer Coalition Philippines Vice President, “We’re looking at this collaboration as a bright spot in shoring up our ecosystem,” she said. “Through you, we will be able to rewrite the stories of people who have lung cancer.”

"The way forward in this fight is truly through early lung cancer intervention," said Dr. Gerardo Cornelio, fellow of the Philippine Society for Medical Oncology, and head of HCCH's Lung Cancer Center of Excellence. “A stage shift has to be done in order to have a good treatment strategy for our patients.” 

Aside from early screening, doctors also espoused the importance of lifestyle changes to protect one’s lungs. Atop the list of best practices is quitting smoking, or not starting at all. Stay away from secondhand smoke, too. Filipinos are also advised to stay physically active to strengthen one’s lungs. Being proactive in sticking to these good habits is essential to maintaining lung health. 

Coinciding with the partnership agreement to strengthen the Lung Ambition Alliance, AstraZeneca Philippines has also entered an understanding with AC Health that will allow eligible AstraZeneca employees to have cancer screening tests in selected AC Health facilities. This paves the way for increased access to the right cancer treatment, and better chance for survival for possible employee patients. The full rollout of the program is expected to be completed in the next two years.