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Screening smokers and ex-smokers could dramatically reduce deaths from lung cancer – Britain’s biggest cancer killer – according to a major new study.
Low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans can detect tumors in people’s lungs early and reduce the number of deaths by 16%, according to the UK Lung Cancer Screening Trial (UKLS).
The findings prompted lung cancer experts to call on the government again to put in place systematic screening across the UK of all people at risk due to their smoking history. They say early detection means patients can undergo potentially curative surgery or radiation therapy.
“Early detection of lung cancer and surgery save lives,” said Professor John Field of the University of Liverpool, author of the trial. Results are presented at a major disease conference and published in the journal Lancet Regional Health Europe.
Around 47,000 Britons a year are diagnosed with lung cancer and 35,000 die from it. It kills more men than prostate cancer and more women than breast cancer. Only a quarter of lung cancers are detected when they are in stages one or two, when treatment can keep someone alive.
The UKLS trial involved 3,968 people in Liverpool and Cambridge aged 50 to 75. All had been identified as being at risk of developing lung cancer within the next five years. Between October 2011 and February 2013, just over half (1,987) had a CT scan, while the rest (1,981) received normal care from the NHS but were not scanned. All were followed for seven years.
Eighty-six cancers were detected during this period among those who were screened, but fewer – 75 – during those seven years among those who received normal care.
Significantly, while there were 46 deaths in those seven years among those who had not had a CT scan, far fewer – 30 – occurred in the group that had been screened.
Dr Robert Rintoul, chair of the UK Lung Cancer Coalition’s clinical advisory group and co-author of the study, said the findings underscored that “national lung cancer screening programs are urgently needed.
“In the UK, only a quarter of new lung cancer cases are detected at an early stage when curative treatment can be offered. In contrast, about 75% of lung cancers identified by CT scan screening studies are at an early stage and can be treated with surgical removal or radiotherapy.
The study is the latest to show that CT screening detects lung tumors early. The results are sent to the UK National Screening Committee, which advises ministers. Professor Anne Mackie, Director of Screening at Public Health England, said the findings would inform the committee’s ongoing discussions on whether to recommend screening for at-risk groups.
Meanwhile, NHS England is undertaking CT scans for lung cancer in various parts of the country.
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