Thank you for making 2022 so impactful! While there is more than we can fit in one newsletter, below are some of the highlights from the year. We look forward to building on these programs to make 2023 even more impactful in our commitment to transform lung cancer.
The Information Hub for Your Type of Lung Cancer
The completion of six Patient Gateways in 2022 ensured that people living with lung cancer have the necessary tools and information specific to their diagnosis.
Each gateway offers resources to find a specialist and meet others with the same type of lung cancer, expert videos, as well as a curated newsfeed on new treatment options, research breakthroughs, and much more related to living with your type of cancer.
LUNGevity’s research team had a busy year presenting at the 2022 World Conference on Lung Cancer, releasing the first-of-its-kind Global Lung Cancer Therapy Landscape report in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, being selected as the patient advocate partner for the new Cancer Grand Challenges team taking on the challenge of cancer cachexia, launching the Minority Mentorship and Training Program, and increasing the number of LUNGevity research award programs.
Research focused on patient participation and experiences is an important element in transforming lung cancer care.
In 2022, Project PEER began enrolling patients and caregivers in a survey-based study to better understand their real-world lung cancer experience.
Project REFORM, focused on the materials patients sign to enroll in clinical trials, found that the use of high grade-level language, the length of materials, and the difficulties of patients in finding the information they need, are all barriers to care that must be addressed by the research community. Thankfully, LUNGevity was asked in 2022 to present on these initial findings.
In 2022, LUNGevity committed $4,950,000 to 18 research projects focused on early detection of lung cancer and targeted treatments. Previous LUNGevity research award winners shared updates this year on new biomarker research for non-small cell lung cancer, creating personalized medicine for small cell lung cancer patients, and improving treatments for KRAS-positive lung cancer.
LUNGevity's Scientific Advisory Board
LUNGevity continued its research partnerships with ALK Positive and EGFR patient groups and added new partnerships with RET Positive and the Haloumi Foundation. These patient- and caregiver-led groups raised funds directly influencing the direction and focus of the research that affects their lives.
Our Scientific Advisory Board, which guides LUNGevity’s research strategy, gained an important new member in 2022, Brandon Stiles, MD, from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Dr. Patrick Forde, the recipient of a LUNGevity research award, saw his new therapy become the first-ever FDA approval for a neoadjuvant therapy (given before surgery) for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. Dr. Forde’s work found that nivolumab is 14 times more likely, when paired with chemotherapy (compared to chemotherapy alone), to have no evidence of residual cancer in tissue removed from surgery.
The Stand Up To Cancer-LUNGevity-American Lung Association Lung Cancer Interception Dream Team has studied and sequenced hundreds of patient airway and lung samples to begin creating a precancer atlas, or a map of all the molecular changes in a cell that occur as normal airway and lung cells become precancerous and then cancerous. In its fifth year, this team has already made exciting discoveries about the role of the immune system in the early stages of the development of lung cancer.
Transforming Clinical Trials to Better Serve Patients
The Transforming Clinical Trials Initiative is about making sure clinical trials are created and conducted in a way that supports patients and their needs. In 2022, the team in charge of this initiative met four times and published a set of recommendations for the US Food and Drug Administration to simplify clinical trial eligibility so patients and healthcare professionals can easily search for and compare different trials.
Bringing World Experts to You and Building Community
The third annual virtual International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference brought together over 800 patients and caregivers from 40 countries to hear from experts and specialists from leading institutions.
Our weekly virtual meetups now include groups for specific types of lung cancer — ALK-positive, small cell, rare mutations, EGFR-positive, KRAS-positive, and lung cancer with no mutations. We also added a Tuesday Caregiver Connection group to accompany our long-standing general meetups.
In 2022, we welcomed Ann Fish-Steagall as Senior Vice President of Patient Services and licensed socialworker Angela James as a LUNGevity Care Navigator to improve healthcare delivery and expand support to those in our community.
Check our calendar for upcoming education and support events!
In 2022, LUNGevity worked with more than 50 lung cancer organizations to increase the government's funding of the Lung Cancer Research Program, which often must reject quality research projects because of a lack of available dollars.
Thanks in part to the involvement of more than 500 lung cancer advocates who used the LUNGevity Action Network to contact their legislators, the government finalized a $5 million increase in funding for the Lung Cancer Research Program.
While less than the amount we advocated for, it’s a first step towards a more robust funding increase for lung cancer research and a credit to the members of our community who used their voices to push for positive change.
Over the past year, 651 individuals joined the LUNGevity Action Network, which now stands at over 2,100 participants who stay up to date on lung cancer legislative news, sign petitions, send messages to policymakers and regulators, and share impactful stories.
The addition of Brandon Leonard, MA, in April of 2022 as LUNGevity’s Director of Government Affairs amplifies our ability to identify and analyze legislative proposals that directly affect patients with and at risk for lung cancer, and continue to leverage the voices of our dedicated advocates for more legislative victories.
Health Equity & Best-Case Outcomes for All
LUNGevity’s health equity work is based on ensuring everyone with lung cancer gets the same opportunities for best-case outcomes, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, age, socioeconomic status, or geographic location.
Eugene Manley, Jr., PhD, was hired in 2022 as our first ever Director of Community Engagement. His new speakers series -- Conversations that Count -- provides a platform for people living with lung cancer to share their experiences related to treatment, medical care, quality of life, and more. Patients and caregivers are joined by medical experts to talk about improving patient outcomes.
The 2022 Health Equity Summit, focused on political determinants of health, brought together community organizers, payors, healthcare experts, and public policy representatives to discuss early disease intervention and policy levers that we can change to ensure equitable care. The group identified policy barriers that have an impact on the lives of people living with lung cancer and that can feasibly be addressed.
A new program in partnership with the Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center in Bronx, NY aims to reduce lung cancer screenings disparities within marginalized communities.
The continuation of the national No One Missed biomarker testing awareness campaign expanded its reach in 2022 to specifically target medically underserved populations. This included enlisting new patient and caregiver ambassadors and a national PSA.
Thank You Supporters, Donors, and Advocates
As we conclude our look back at a busy 2022, we think about all the people who helped make this possible.
Thousands of you from across the country came out to a Breathe Deep TOGETHER walk, or ran in a Team LUNGevity endurance event, to show support, raise awareness, and fundraise for important programs. Others used their voice to advocate for policy changes, joined a weekly meetup, or donated to support transformative research.
Thank you, all! We look forward to continuing to work together to transform how people live with lung cancer.
