New screening programme to detect lung cancer earlier

A new screening programme designed to catch lung cancer sooner or prevent it altogether has been announced by the government.

The programme is expected to detect as many as 9,000 people with cancer, deliver almost one million scans and provide treatment earlier.

The rollout follows a successful opening phase where approximately 70% of the screening took place in mobile units parked in convenient places - such as supermarket car parks - to ensure easy access and focused on more deprived areas where people are four times more likely to smoke.

The programme, backed by a recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee - will use patient’s GP records for those aged 55 to 74 to identify current or former smokers. Patients will have their risk of cancer assessed based on their smoking history and other factors and those considered high risk will be invited for specialist scans every two years.

The programme is expected to cost £270 million annually once fully implemented.

The programme could also help people improve their health and reduce their risk of cancer by encouraging the use of smoking cessation services.

During the initial phase almost 900,000 people were invited for checks, 375,000 risk assessments made and 200,000 scans were carried out.