International Partnership to Address Lung Cancer Epidemic

International Partnership to Address Lung Cancer Epidemic

San Carlos, Calif. (February 10, 2015)–(BUSINESS WIRE)–According to a recent study in the Annals of Oncology, lung cancer fatalities are set to overtake breast cancer deaths among European women for the first time this year. It is predicted lung cancer deaths for women in Europe will reach 14.24 per 100,000 of the population in 2015.

“The ALCF has come together with other leading organizations to work together to educate patients and doctors with the goal of eradicating lung cancer.”

To address this, representatives from the Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) and the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI), Bonnie Addario and Scott Santarella, along with representatives from the University of Torino and Women Against Lung Cancer in Europe (WALCE), Prof. Giorgio Scagliotti and Prof. Silvia Novello and Stefania Vallone, agreed to form a mutually beneficial working partnership to the benefit of lung cancer patients worldwide.

“There is an immediate need to address the lung cancer epidemic as a global issue,” said Bonnie Addario, Stage 3B lung cancer survivor and founder of the ALCF and ALCMI. “The ALCF has come together with other leading organizations to work together to educate patients and doctors with the goal of eradicating lung cancer.”

“While patient advocates around the world have played an important role in raising lung cancer awareness, misinformation continues to surround this disease, creating barriers to treatment and patient care,” said Stefania Vallone. “We are calling on the general public to help correct misperceptions around lung cancer and highlight the disease for what it truly is– a complicated illness with many causes that can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender or smoking history.”

The basis of the partnership includes public relations, marketing and promotional projects, joint patient educational programs, shared patient services projects and clinical trial/study initiatives. Examples of these include:

• Partnership announcement in conjunction with World Lung Cancer Day on February 4, 2015
• Website links shared on each organization’s site
• Identification of Community Hospital Centers of Excellence (COE) in Italy to be a part of ALCF COE program
• Jointly sponsored patient education program at IASLC 2015 World Congress in Denver, CO
• Potential joint medial/journalism award for Excellence in Lung Cancer Awareness Reporting
• ALCF materials translated in Italian and available via WALCE
• WALCE materials translated into English and available via ALCF
• Other initiatives, to be identified

For those interested in learning more about ALCF, visit www.lungcancerfoundation.org and follow its activities on Twitter and Facebook.

For those interested in learning more about WALCE visit www.womenagainstlungcancer.eu and follow its activities on Twitter and Facebook.

About the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation
The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) is one of the largest philanthropies (patient-founded, patient-focused, and patient-driven) devoted exclusively to eradicating Lung Cancer through research, early detection, education, and treatment. The Foundation’s goal is to work with a diverse group of physicians, organizations, industry partners, individuals, patients, survivors, and their families to identify solutions and make timely and meaningful change and turn lung cancer into a chronically managed disease by 2023. The ALCF was established on March 1, 2006 as a 501c(3) non-profit organization and has raised more than $20 million for lung cancer research and related programs.

About the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute
The Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI), founded in 2008 as a 501c(3) non-profit organization, is a patient-centric, international research consortium driving research otherwise not possible, evidenced by ALCMI’s current clinical studies CASTLE, INHERIT EGFR T790M, and the Genomics of Young Lung Cancer. ALCMI overcomes barriers to collaboration via a world-class team of investigators from 22+ institutions in the U.S. and Europe, supported by dedicated research infrastructures such as centralized tissue banks and data systems. ALCMI directly facilitates research by combining scientific expertise found at leading academic institutions with patient access through our network of community cancer centers – accelerating novel research advancements to lung cancer patients.

About WALCE
WALCE is an European non-profit, lung cancer patient-focused organization founded in Italy in 2006 with the aim to educate, support and advocate for lung cancer patients and their caregivers and to circulate more accurate and up-to-date information in terms of prevention, diagnosis and therapy.

WALCE is included in a national and international network and cooperates with different stakeholders at any level with this purpose to empower patients and general public and eradicate the stigma which surrounds lung cancer.

Contacts
Perry Communications Group
Julia Spiess Lewis, 916-658-0144
julia@perrycom.com