Lung cancer patients are living longer thanks to this Kiwi-led breakthrough
Lung cancer patients are living longer thanks to this Kiwi-led breakthrough
Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in Aotearoa, but thanks to a groundbreaking clinical trial, early-stage lung cancer patients who aren’t fit for surgery are receiving a new life-extending treatment.
For the last fifty years, lung cancer has taken more Kiwi lives than any other cancer — more than breast cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma combined. That’s 1800 deaths annually and four times our national road toll.
Unfortunately, Māori communities are hit the hardest. Māori women, in particular, have the highest lung cancer rates in the country — and among the highest in the world.
Thankfully, Aotearoa is home to brilliant researchers like Dr Scott Babington, a Christchurch-based Radiation Oncologist who is determined to develop better treatment options for lung cancer patients.
In 2012, Cancer Research Trust New Zealand backed Dr Babington’s groundbreaking clinical trial to test a new method of treating early-stage lung cancer patients who are not fit for surgery.
The study involved testing a high precision radiotherapy treatment called Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT). The goal of the trial was to determine if SBRT given in only three treatments over two weeks is better than current radiotherapy treatment given daily over six and a half weeks.
A pool of lung cancer patients across Australia and New Zealand – including patients of Māori descent – received either SBRT or standard radiotherapy treatment and the results were analysed. The conclusion? Patients who received SBRT were significantly better off.
The results were so positive that the study outcomes were presented at the World Conference on Lung Cancer, a brilliant achievement and testament to Dr Babington’s mahi.
In a nutshell, the trial found that SBRT was more effective at stopping the cancer from returning in the treated lung area than traditional radiotherapy. More importantly, patients had an overall better survival rate thanks to this new and improved treatment.
Fast forward to today and early-stage lung cancer patients who aren’t fit for surgery are receiving this life-extending treatment — not just in New Zealand, but across the globe.
It’s a powerful legacy of bold, evidence-based research, all made possible by Cancer Research Trust New Zealand and the generosity of our donors.
