Today, we are faced with the sobering reality that lung cancer continues to be the second most common cancer and the deadliest cancer in the United States. In 2021, the American Cancer Society estimates there will be 235,760 new lung cancer cases and 131,880 deaths from the disease1. The average 5-year survival rate in the US is just 18.6% because often patients do not know they have lung cancer until it’s progressed into a serious stage2,3. Early-stage detection can make treatment easier and drastically changes the survival odds but often, early-stage lung cancer is asymptomatic.
This year the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) broadened their recommendations around the use of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for early lung cancer detection. The new recommendation calls for annual screening with LDCT in all adults ages 50-80 who have a 20 pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit in the last 15 years3. Smoking and old age continue to be the two leading risk factors for lung cancer and smoking is responsible for 80% of all lung cancer deaths4. This new recommendation from the USPSTF marks an important milestone in increasing access to early lung cancer screening and awareness of its importance.
In 2014, Dorian Averbuch founded Body Vision with the intent of addressing the unmet clinical need for early cancer diagnostics and treatment. “Over the last 20 years since I started my journey for innovation in navigation bronchoscopy, the lung cancer survival rate in the US has only improved by 3%. This is ridiculously low when taking into account the significant investment made by giant medical device corporations in the space over the last decade. Moreover, the worldwide lung cancer mortality rate has remained at the same, low 10% for the last 20 years,” Averbuch says. “Body Vision Medical has demonstrated the potential of significant, positive impact on the global lung cancer survival rate. First, we are enabling early and timely diagnosis, helping physicians to guide their instrument and confirm that the tip of the biopsy needle is in the lesion prior to tissue sampling. Second, in the near future, we will be enabling minimally invasive therapy through the Body Vision platform. Our innovation is designed to work with any bronchoscopy equipment in the bronchoscopy suite, anywhere in the world.”
The LungVision system is providing physicians with easy access to advanced imaging like nothing else on the market. The real-time C-Arm Based Tomography (CABT) imaging enables true, real-time imaging and tool-in-lesion confirmation during navigation and biopsy, eliminating the effect of CT-to-Body divergence, ultimately maximizing the definitive clinical outcome from each navigational bronchoscopy procedure. This is important progress for patients.
At Body Vision Medical, every day we’re committed to providing lifesaving options for lung cancer patients and their families, worldwide. Together we are working towards a world where cancer patients can live a longer, healthier life.
Sources
1. The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team. (n.d.). Lung cancer statistics: How common is lung cancer? American Cancer Society. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://www.cancer.org/cancer/lung-cancer/about/key-statistics.html.
2. Lung cancer fact sheet. American Lung Association. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2021, from https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/lung-cancer/resource-library/lung-cancer-fact-sheet.
3. US Preventative Services Task Force Members. (2021, March 9). Screening for Lung Cancer US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. Recommendation: Lung Cancer: Screening | United States Preventive Services Taskforce. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/lung-cancer-screening#fullrecommendationstart.
4. Lung cancer facts. Lung Cancer Research Foundation. (2021, October 28). Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://www.lungcancerresearchfoundation.org/lung-cancer-facts/.