Lung cancer patient assistance project launched

Beijing, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Zhao Ping, chairman of the China Cancer Foundation, announced that the "Opdivo Patient Assistance Project," a tumor immunotherapy assistance project for lung cancer patients initiated by the China Cancer Foundation, has been fully launched. Zhao Ping said that more than 200 hospitals in more than 80 cities across the country will participate in the project, with the goal of alleviating the payment pressure of lung cancer patients , providing drug assistance to low-income patients, and helping more patients achieve long-term survival and improve their quality of life.

In 2018, there will be approximately 18.1 million new cancer cases and 9.6 million cancer deaths worldwide, among which lung cancer ranks first, accounting for 20.27%. For patients with early-stage lung cancer, only surgical treatment is needed, and the cost will be relatively low. If there is medical insurance, it can also reduce greater pressure. However, for patients with advanced lung cancer, in addition to surgery, they also need to cooperate with some auxiliary treatments such as chemotherapy, and the cost is relatively expensive. Many patients give up because they cannot afford the treatment costs. The implementation of the Opdivo patient assistance project will greatly reduce the economic burden of patients caused by treatment, allowing more lung cancer patients to receive innovative tumor immunotherapy and improve the overall survival of lung cancer patients.

In recent years, the incidence and mortality of lung cancer have remained high, and it has become an urgent and difficult issue in China's health field. The Opdivo Patient Assistance Program is the first tumor immunotherapy patient assistance program in China for lung cancer patients. For patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), after receiving 6 consecutive Opdivo treatments without disease progression and intolerable side effects, patients can receive free drug assistance for up to 7 subsequent treatments in each cycle.