Over 10,000 cases of lung cancer caught by NHS scanning trucks
Over 10,000 cases of lung cancer have been caught by NHS scanning trucks in supermarket car parks, sports stadiums and busy high streets, NHS England has announced.
Of the 10,678 lung cancers detected through the programme, more than three quarters were caught at stages one or two, the organisation revealed this week (25 May).
NHS England hailed the ‘fantastic’ milestone for the trucks, which form part of its growing Lung Cancer Screening Programme to encourage early diagnosis and treatment.
Under the initiative, local health teams perform in-depth lung health checks and scans on current and past smokers aged 55 to 74.
Lung cancer risk is first assessed using prediction models that consider factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, detailed smoking history, body mass index, and personal history of cancer or lung disease. Those identified as high-risk are then offered a low-dose computed tomography (LCDT) scan.
Since the launch of the NHS England Lung Cancer Screening Programme in 2019 – designed to target areas of the country hardest hit by the disease – more than 3.3 million people have been invited for a lung health check. Of those assessed, over 800,000 individuals underwent an LDCT scan.
The initiative is due to roll out nationwide by 2030, with the aim of offering 6 million people a lung health check and supporting the diagnosis of up to 50,000 cancers, NHS England said.
The screening initiative forms a ‘key part’ of the national National Cancer Plan, which aims for 75% of people diagnosed with cancer to survive for five years or more by 2035, NHS England added.
People diagnosed with lung cancer at the earliest stages are nearly 13 times more likely to survive for five years than those whose cancer is caught late, it pointed out.
‘Lung cancer checks and scans save lives, so it’s fantastic the NHS has now diagnosed over 10,000 people — the majority at an early stage, when treatment is most effective,’ said Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England national clinical director for cancer.
‘It is great to see the positive public response to this programme, and rolling this out nationwide will help us save even more lives in the future.’
Around 26,000 people in England die from lung cancer every year. Seven out of 10 cases are caused by smoking, while others are caused by passive smoking and exposure to certain gases and chemicals.
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