Late diagnosis remains major challenge in lung cancer care in Vietnam

The Vietnam Cancer Association and AstraZeneca Vietnam on Sunday co-hosted a scientific conference on lung cancer treatment in Ho Chi Minh City.

At the event, Dr. Diep Bao Tuan, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Oncology, said lung cancer remains one of the leading medical challenges both in Vietnam and worldwide.

Citing data from Globocan 2022 and the World Health Organization, he noted that Vietnam records more than 24,000 new lung cancer cases annually, ranking third among all cancers in the country, along with nearly 22,600 deaths, ranking second in cancer-related mortality.

Despite medical advances, access to modern lung cancer treatments remains limited, while late-stage diagnosis is still highly prevalent, creating a significant disease burden.

Statistics show that up to 84 percent of the patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, while only about 16 percent are detected early.

Dr. Pham Xuan Dung, president of the Ho Chi Minh City Cancer Association, said lung cancer continues to rise in both incidence and mortality, particularly in developing countries.

He added that Vietnam has made notable progress in recent years, approaching regional and global standards in treatment such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery.

However, a key challenge remains in improving treatment outcomes, especially for patients with advanced disease who have limited options.

From the late 20th century through the first two decades of the 21st century, lung cancer treatment has undergone a major transformation with the emergence of two key modalities: targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

When combined with traditional approaches such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery, these advances have significantly reshaped treatment strategies and improved patient outcomes.

“Previously, patients with metastatic advanced-stage lung cancer often survived less than 12 months. Today, it is not uncommon for patients to live two to four years. This shows that we are moving closer to personalized cancer treatment,” Dr. Dung said.

Similarly, Dr. Tuan said modern systemic therapies, including targeted therapy for patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations and immunotherapy, are shifting toward earlier stages of the disease, changing treatment strategies from merely prolonging survival to achieving curative goals.

“If only chemotherapy is used, stage-four lung cancer patients typically survive around eight to nine months. With immunotherapy, survival can increase to about 33 months,” he noted.

To support this goal, he emphasized the need to expand genetic and molecular testing, strengthen the development of targeted therapies and immunotherapy, apply artificial intelligence and big data, and promote clinical research innovation to optimize individualized treatment.

Explaining the high rate of late diagnosis, Dr. Tuan said many people remain focused on daily livelihoods and tend to neglect regular health monitoring, while routine check-ups remain limited.

As a result, many patients are diagnosed only after clear symptoms appear.

He added that a planned nationwide program for annual health check-ups starting in 2026 is expected to improve early detection and raise public awareness of regular screening, enabling earlier intervention and more effective treatment, including for lung cancer.