Study suggests CT scanning detects lung cancer early and could save lives

Experts are calling for regular CT scans to be made available to smokers and ex-smokers to detect early signs of lung cancer, following a study which suggested it could save thousands of lives by identifying 70 per cent of lung cancers at an early stage.

It has been described by one specialist as a “major breakthrough”, as 75 per cent of lung cancer cases in England are currently diagnosed at stage through or four, when it is too late to be given potentially life-saving treatment.

Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK, with up to 48,000 people diagnosed with the condition every year.

The Summit study, undertaken at University College London Hospital NHS Trust (UCLH) found 180 cases of lung cancer among 12,100 smokers and ex-smokers. Of those, 70 per cent were at stage one and two.

Dr Sam James of UCLH, said “It’s really a major breakthrough for lung cancer.

“Lung cancer has never had anything that enabled us to detect this devastating cancer earlier and offer curative treatment to this number of lung cancer patients.

“It’s important to highlight how effective CT scanning is. In my lung cancer clinic at UCLH, seven out of 10 people have cancer that’s been inoperable, incurable, from the first time they saw a doctor.

“Whereas with the cancers that we see with Summit, seven out of 10 are potentially curable, because they were detected earlier.”

Chairman of the UKLCC clinical advisory group Dr Robert Rintoul, said “Now that CT screening for lung cancer has been shown to work, we very much hope that a lung cancer screening programme will be introduced in England.”

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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