Ayala, AstraZeneca putting up world-class lung health center

MANILA, Philippines — The Ayala Group has teamed up with AstraZeneca in establishing the country’s leading health facility for detection and treatment of lung illnesses, particularly cancer.

Healthway Cancer Care Hospital (HCCH) is partnering with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca in launching its Lung Center of Excellence (COE) and lung nodule clinic to improve response to thoracic malignancies.

HCCH Lung COE head Gerardo Cornelio said the facility would provide a full suite of health services for the two types of lung cancer: non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer, which is more aggressive.

“The vision of the Lung COE is really to be the leading center for screening, detection, diagnosis and treatment of thoracic malignancies in the Philippines. We want to make this bigger, at least in Asia, in the next couple of years,” Cornelio said.

HCCH’s partnership with AstraZeneca is focused on providing chest X-rays that can detect lung cancer. Powered by artificial intelligence developed by Qure.ai, the X-ray can detect lung cancer at an early stage, allowing patients to respond to it immediately.

For diagnosis, the center offers diagnostic tests like biopsies and bronchoscopy, and can deliver treatment options, including surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy.

Cornelio said lung cancer is becoming more prevalent in the Philippines and mortalities are rising as patients detect it late most of the time, reducing their chances of recovery.

Based on data from Global Cancer Observatory, the country registered 23,728 new cases of lung cancer in 2022, making it the second highest incidence among types of cancer.

The lung nodule clinic is designed to manage lung nodules, small spots that may appear on chest scans. HCCH lung nodule clinic head Michael Agustin said while lung nodules are mostly harmless, some can be identified as an early sign of lung cancer.

The clinic offers evaluation of lung nodules through a team of experts, including pulmonologists, radiologists and oncologists. The clinic features a low-dose CT lung cancer (LDCT), which uses less radiation compared to a standard CT.

The LDCT can detect small nodules that could be warning signs of lung cancer, so it can reduce deaths by as much as 20 percent as opposed to X-rays.

HCCH is part of the Healthway Medical Network, a group of specialty clinics managed by Ayala Healthcare Holdings Inc.