Lung cancer as a chronic condition: a goal that is within reach thanks to innovation

Turning lung cancer into a chronic condition for an ever-increasing number of patients: this is the goal that researchers have been working towards for decades, and one that is coming closer to fruition thanks to innovations in treatments and diagnostic methods. Over the last 10–15 years, overall mortality has fallen by significant percentages, by up to 24 per cent, with an even more marked decline (recorded between 2006 and 2021) in the 20–49 age group; 35.5 per cent in men and 46.4 per cent in women. However, the five-year survival rate – 16 per cent in men and 23 per cent in women – still places this cancer amongst those with the most severe prognosis. There is still a long and challenging road ahead, and prevention remains the most important weapon.

It is against this backdrop that Walce Aps – Women Against Lung Cancer in Europe – was founded and has grown since 2006. The organisation is now celebrating the milestone of its first 20 years of activity, during which it has forged a solid bond between patients, doctors and volunteers – a journey that has made a real difference. Twenty years of information, awareness-raising and prevention programmes, as well as programmes to complement medical care; but also twenty years in which relationships with other organisations have been forged and strengthened, and above all, the constant help and support from patients and carers have made Walce unique and vital for other patients and families. Twenty years are not, and must not be, seen as a finishing line, but should be viewed as a milestone, because much remains to be done, starting with the very reason behind the association’s name: the numbers of affected women are still rising.

Over the last 20 years, the treatment of lung cancer – for which chemotherapy alone had been the standard of care for decades – has undergone two revolutions. The first therapeutic revolution began with the molecular characterisation of the various forms of lung cancer and the introduction of molecularly targeted therapies; the second is linked to the advent of immunotherapy, which is now the standard treatment for both advanced disease and, more recently, early-stage disease. Immunotherapy treatments have not replaced chemotherapy but, in many cases, are used alongside it. These two revolutions have radically changed the outlook for many patients and are also altering the epidemiology of this cancer.

Very promising developments on many fronts emerged from the recent ESMO 2026 Congress held in Madrid, where numerous clinical trials with highly encouraging results were presented and the evolution of treatment was reaffirmed – a treatment that now makes use of therapeutic sequences, adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapies, and combinations of older and newer drugs, making it possible to control advanced disease over long periods and to achieve a cure in early-stage forms. There is a strong case for timely and accurate molecular characterisation, both at the outset – to select the initial drug – and at a later stage, when the drug may fail and there is a need for new treatment options, which are now available.

As research progresses, treatments will become increasingly targeted and effective, leading to an improvement in life expectancy; needs will change, and listening will become ever more crucial. Walce will continue to play an active role in raising awareness of lung cancer and in supporting patients and their families: our focus in the coming years will be on strengthening primary prevention, making screening a routine practice for heavy smokers, and tangibly reducing inequalities in access to care for those who have already been diagnosed with lung cancer.