Hospitals in China 'lagging behind' on genetic tests for lung cancer

Fewer hospitals in China conduct genetic tests on lung cancer patients compared to Western countries, even though Asians are genetically more susceptible to the disease, a leading cancer expert has warned.

Speaking days after he chaired the 15th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Sydney, Professor Tony Mok Shun-kam, from Chinese University, told the that more than 30 per cent of lung cancer cases in Asians could be attributed to mutated genes, compared with just 10 per cent in Western countries.

But, despite lung cancer being the No 1 killer disease in China, only 20 per cent of lung cancer patients on the mainland and 60 per cent in Hong Kong undergo a genetic test after being diagnosed with the illness, he said.

In most developed countries in the West, a genetic test for lung cancer patients is carried out automatically.

The discrepancy means patients in China miss out on gene-targeted treatment that is more effective and has fewer side effects than conventional chemotherapy.

Mok said more education was needed among the city's medical professionals in order for genetic testing to be increased.

Most patients who have the disease because of genetic factors have so-called EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) mutation in their genes, which can be treated by TKI (tyrosine kinase inhibitors) therapies.