2023-05-19 13:29:00
In Lombardy there are an estimated 60,000 new cases of cancer per year. In 2022 in Italy there were 390,700 and in 10 years (2010-2020) in our country the people alive after a diagnosis of cancer increased by 36%. Innovation, in particular immuno-oncology, has made a fundamental contribution in improving patient survival, making chronic neoplasms very difficult to cure. To tell all citizens of these important results, the second stage of the ‘I know too’ awareness campaign is scheduled from today 19 May to Sunday 21 in Milan in Piazza Argentina (from 10 to 18). Lombard capital.
The project is made by Bristol Myers Squibbwith the participation of Tutor (Rare Chest Cancer Association), Apaim (Italian melanoma patient association), Fiagop (Italian Federation of Parents and Recovered Pediatric Oncohaematology Associations), Living without a stomach (you can), Honeycomb (Italian federation of voluntary associations in oncology) e Rollers (Women against lung cancer in Europe), sponsored by Aiom (Italian Association of Medical Oncology). The campaign – reads a note – includes meetings in the squares, with the presence of patient associations, the distribution of information material and the activation of a dedicated portal (www.bms.com/it/losoanchio.html). A gazebo will be set up in Piazza Argentina for the whole weekend, open to all, where a ‘time machine’ will be found to show the main stages in the history of immuno-oncology.
“Immuno-oncology has opened a new era in the treatment of tumors – he explains Filippo de Braud, Full Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Milan and Director of the Department and Division of Medical Oncology of the Irccs Foundation National Cancer Institute of Milan – It is able to stimulate the immune system against cancer and significantly improve survival, with a good quality of life. Immuno-oncological drugs remove the ‘brake’, consisting of the CTLA-4 and PD-1 receptors, with which the tumor blocks the response of the immune system. The results obtained are very important and these therapies, used alone or in combination, have profoundly changed the standard of care in many neoplasms, from melanoma to lung carcinoma, to that of the kidney, up to pleural mesothelioma and gastrointestinal tumors. Italy has played a key role in the development of these innovative molecules”.
In the past, de Braud points out, “survival in metastatic melanoma was only 6 months. Today, thanks to the combination of two immuno-oncological molecules, nivolumab and ipilimumab, on the front line in this metastatic skin cancer, almost half of patients (48 %) is alive at 7.5 years.This combination is also available in advanced renal cell carcinoma for which, historically, 5-year survival did not exceed 13%.Today however, thanks to frontline dual immunotherapy, the 43% are alive at 5 years And in advanced or metastatic gastroesophageal (stomach, gastroesophageal junction, and esophagus) adenocarcinomas, we can offer patients an effective first-line option of immunotherapy with nivolumab in combination with chemotherapy”.
Even in the most common form of non-small cell lung cancer, immunotherapy has changed the standard of care. The 5-year survival in metastatic disease was approximately 15%. “At 3 years, 27% of patients receiving first-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab in combination with two cycles of chemotherapy are alive, compared with 19% with chemotherapy alone,” he said. Filippo de Marinis, director of the Thoracic Oncology Division of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan – The further advantage of this approach is represented by the use of limited cycles of chemotherapy, which allows to reduce the side effects. In less than a month, the patient finishes chemotherapy and continues with immunotherapy alone. Reducing the duration of chemotherapy brings undoubted advantages in terms of treatment tolerability and quality of life”.
“For the first time in over 15 years – continues de Marinis – immunotherapy has also changed the treatment of pleural mesothelioma, a chest cancer that is particularly difficult to treat. In the most aggressive form, the non-epithelioid one, the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab has more than doubled the median survival, which reached 18.1 months compared to 8.8 with standard chemotherapy.These are truly significant and unimaginable results until recently.In addition to the survival figure, we add the extremely relevant one for patients on quality of life, clearly in favor of immunotherapy”.
“Bms was the first to believe in immuno-oncology, investing time and resources in this innovative treatment approach – declares Cosimo Paga, Executive Country Medical Director, Bristol Myers Squibb Italia – So far we have obtained reimbursement in Italy for 16 cancer indications in different stages of the disease for our immuno-oncology drugs, resulting in a significant survival benefit for patients.We continue to pioneer studies of new combination therapies and precision medicine, with the aim of improving the quality of life of those affected by serious diseases. The development of new technologies thanks to digitization and artificial intelligence can make it possible to identify additional patient settings that respond to immuno-oncology, thus extending its effectiveness. And it is important that citizens are informed about the progress of research, to this we promote the campaign ‘I know too'”.
“Today, thanks to innovation – highlights Laura Abate-Daga, president of Tutor – more and more patients can claim to have overcome cancer, but for rare tumors with an incidence of 6/100 thousand cases the road is still long, even if important perspectives are also opening up in aggressive pathologies such as mesothelioma. For these results we must thank scientific research and all the patients who agree to participate in the trials. We join the ‘I know too’ campaign, which aims to raise awareness among citizens, because have faith in science, clinicians and research, and we are confident that together we could do more research into rare cancers, such as mesothelioma and thymic cancers.There are still many challenges to address to improve treatment prospects.For example, it is essential that the diagnosis and treatment path of rare neoplasms such as rare chest tumors and mesothelioma are defined only in reference structures, which guarantee experience for the number of cases treated and a multidisciplinary approach”.
“The results obtained thanks to the research – concludes Paolo Viti, President of Fiagop – make it possible to definitively heal the majority of patients affected by a neoplasm developed in childhood. And the prospects offered by innovative approaches, such as those based on the However, it is important to reduce the regional disparities that force children and their families to move for treatment, even for long periods, with a flow that goes from the south to the north of the country, with serious consequences in psychological and economic terms. In order to improve the level of care, it is also necessary to activate the pediatric networks within the regional oncological networks. In this way it will be possible to achieve homogeneous assistance throughout the territory”.
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