World Cancer Awareness Month 2024: Close the Care Gap
Bangkok – AstraZeneca (Thailand) Company Limited and Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Public Company Limited (BDMS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under “Collaboration towards excellence in lung cancer” with a pilot phase to be implemented at the Bangkok Cancer Hospital Wattanosoth. According to the agreement, artificial intelligence (AI) will play a pivotal role in closing the gap in lung cancer diagnosis and treatment. This alliance also aims to raise public awareness of risk assessments, screenings, diagnosis, and timely treatment in support of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Close the Care Gap campaign for World Cancer Day, which resonates with the Bangkok Cancer Hospital Wattanosoth’s vision. Bangkok Cancer Hospital Wattanosoth positions itself as a specialized private-run medical institute for cancer treatment, emphasizing holistic care to ensure that patients receive proper treatment and molecular testing for precision therapy. Its goal is to give patients a good quality of life in the long term, as it underlines its strengths as Asia-Pacific’s Center of Excellence in Cancer.
Beyond the Bangkok Cancer Hospital Wattanosoth’s well-equipped facilities for diagnoses and treatments, the collaboration has also drawn strengths from AstraZeneca, part of the Lung Ambition Alliance (LAA). AstraZeneca has supported LAA’s activities in more than 50 countries worldwide, including Thailand, with an aim to double patients’ ‘5-Year Survival Rate for Lung Cancer’ by 2025. It also seeks to understand better how lung cancer evolves and develop advanced therapeutic techniques for cancer care, enabling patients to live longer and better lives.
Visiting Professor Dr. Thiravud Khuhaprema, Hospital Director of the Bangkok Cancer Hospital Wattanosoth, expressed, “This press conference was held to support the World Cancer Day campaign by WHO, under this year’s theme “Close the care gap”. In line with this theme, our hospital focuses on lung cancer because we have found that lung cancer incidences have been rising among non-smokers, and many threats are now raising lung cancer risks in non-smokers’ daily lives. PM2.5 particles, for example, are related to changes in the respiratory system’s cells among people with the EGFR or KRAS mutation gene. Currently, there are no lung cancer screening guidelines for people who have never smoked. To close the care gap, we need to deploy new technology, such as AI. For instance, when people have annual chest X-rays, AI can help analyze images. We have also provided a multi-cancer risk screening for early detection through blood tests that can identify circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) with the help of next-generation sequencing technology, enabling the detection of any sign of cancer. Such personalized cancer screening allows doctors to plan treatments for each patient effectively”.
Mr. Roman Ramos, Country President of AstraZeneca Thailand and Frontier Markets, shared, “Early cancer detection paves the way for effective treatment. During the last 40 years, AstraZeneca has been focusing on various key therapeutic areas, including cancer. We are ready to collaborate with healthcare authorities and other private and governmental partners to encourage more cancer screening among Thai people. As a world-class biopharmaceutical company, we are always committed to enhancing the quality of life for patients by pushing the boundaries of science. In our latest initiative, we have proposed the integration of AI into chest X-ray machines to help doctors detect smaller lung nodules, which may indicate the development of early-stage lung cancer -- enabled by AI, such screening takes just three minutes. If abnormality is detected, patients will be able to get a diagnosis and promptly begin the treatment. This could lead to better outcomes and a higher chance of survival”.
Dr. Matinee Maipang, Chief Executive Officer of Group 1 of BDMS and Bangkok Hospital Director, said, “The Bangkok Cancer Hospital Wattanosoth has been operating under BDMS for more than 10 years now. Today, BDMS is Thailand’s largest private hospital operator. We are committed to providing healthcare services and centers of excellence in the treatments of various diseases, including cancer, to both Thai and foreign patients. Our collaboration with AstraZeneca Thailand will enhance the Bangkok Cancer Hospital Wattanosoth’s capabilities through the exchange of academic knowledge relating to clinical science with world-class cancer institutes and the transfer of innovations and advanced know-how to the hospital’s medical specialists and multi-disciplinary team (MDT). As the collaboration sets to increase the Bangkok Cancer Hospital Wattanosoth’s diagnosis and treatment efficiency for lung cancer patients, the hospital is poised to become Asia-Pacific’s center of excellence in cancer in the future”.
The collaboration between Bangkok Cancer Hospital Wattanosoth and AstraZeneca Thailand will pave the way for better cancer diagnoses and treatment to close the care gap. People will be able to benefit from bettering the quality of their lives and preventing themselves through early cancer detection and effective treatments.
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AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialisation of prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases and Biopharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. Please visit astrazeneca.com and follow the Company on Twitter @AstraZeneca.
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