Health leaders are expecting a new lunger cancer screening programme to catch another 9,000 cases a year by delivering nearly one million tests, NHS England has announced.
The scheme, which will use GP records to target a cohort of potential patients aged 55-74, will cost £270m annually once fully operational and drive earlier diagnosis as figures show that lung cancer has one of the lowest survival rates – primarily attributed to it being caught late.
The rollout follows a successful initial phase which saw most of the screening take place in convenient locations like car parks and supermarkets, ultimately contributing to more than 2,000 people getting diagnosed.
🫁 We're rolling out a targeted lung cancer screening programme across England to help detect cancer earlier and speed up diagnosis.
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) June 26, 2023
People aged 55-74 with a history of smoking will be invited for checks and offered expert help to stop smoking.
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The government intend the new measures to reach 40% of the eligible population by March 2025 with full coverage expected by the same month in 2030.
“The NHS lung trucks programme is already delivering life-changing results, with people living in the most deprived areas now more likely to be diagnosed at an earlier stage, giving them a better chance of successful treatment,” said NHS England’s chief executive, Amanda Pritchard.
As well as a number of other factors, candidates for the programme will be selected based on their smoking status as it causes 72% of lung cancers.
The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation’s chief executive, Paula Chadwick, added: “This is the news we have been waiting for. This is the day we truly begin to level up the lung cancer playing field.
“Through the success of NHS England’s targeted lung health check programme, we have been able to detect 76% of cancers at stages one and two, which turns current rates on their head.”
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