As we head towards Lung Cancer Awareness Month in November disease healthcare organization LUNGevity Foundation is launching a new awareness campaign with backing from major lung cancer drug players.
Dubbed “Anyone with Lungs Can Get Lung Cancer,” the new campaign is designed to alert everyone that they can get lung cancer, regardless of whether they have smoked or not.
Lung cancer remains the biggest cancer killer in the U.S. and the foundation is running a multi-faceted campaign to boost awareness throughout November.
This includes the release of what the foundation calls “educational content” aimed at “debunk(ing) myths” surrounding lung cancer, including that only smokers can get it, while also talking up other risk factors and highlighting the impact of research advances.
Around 60%-65% of new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or who formerly smoked, according to LUNGevity’s figures.
Other risk factors include second-hand smoke, asbestos and environmental conditions, such as living or working in areas with high levels of radon, a radioactive gas. A small number of people are also genetically more likely to have lung cancer even without these risk factors.
The foundation is also running a social media campaign that comes with a new video series focused on lung cancer patients’ stories. These zero in on the core message that "Anyone with Lungs Can Get Lung Cancer." The social media push will, in addition, ask viewers to share their own stories using the campaign hashtag #AnyoneWithLungs.
LUNGevity says the campaign has been helped by “generous sponsors” that include Merck, AstraZeneca, Amgen, Johnson & Johnson, Daiichi Sankyo and Genentech.
Each one has skin in the game when it comes to lung cancer treatment. Merck markets the biggest lung cancer drug in the world in Keytruda while Amgen has several new drugs across the disease in Imdelltra and Lumakras (though the latter has come up against some regulatory issues this year.)
J&J sells Rybrevant and a combo therapy for the disease, and Daiichi Sankyo is attempting to gain approval for its ADC patritumab deruxtecan. AstraZeneca, which also has a cancer drug partnership with Daiichi, markets Imfinzi and Tagrisso for several forms of the disease.
Genentech, the biotech unit of Swiss major Roche, has been marketing lung cancer drugs for nearly two decades, starting with Avastin, which gained its first FDA lung cancer approval in 2006. It’s since had new meds, including most recently ALK inhibitor Alecensa.
“Lung Cancer Awareness Month is a powerful reminder that, together, we have the ability to change the course of this disease,” said Andrea Ferris, president and CEO of LUNGevity Foundation in a press release.
“By raising awareness, promoting lifesaving screenings, and sharing the latest advances in treatment, we can empower individuals, families, and communities to take bold action. Every conversation, every screening, and every step forward brings us closer to a future where surviving lung cancer becomes the expectation and not the exception.”