Lung screening: NHS to roll out targeted community checks

The NHS is to roll out targeted community and mobile lung screening to anyone aged over 55 who has a history of smoking, the government has said.

The move will see people aged between 55 and 74 in England being assessed and invited for screenings and smoking cessation services.

The rollout follows the success of the first phase of a targeted lung health checks scheme run by NHS England, where more than three-quarters (76%) of lung cancers in those tested were caught at an earlier stage.

The programme will cost £270m a year once fully implemented, but is expected to detect as many as 9,000 people with cancer, deliver almost one million scans and provide treatment earlier, the government has claimed.

In the pilot phase of the programme, approximately 70% of the screening took place in mobile units parked in convenient places, such as supermarket car parks, to ensure easy access and that it could be 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 patients’ GP records for those aged 55 to 74 to identify current or former smokers.

The first phase of the scheme is planned to reach 40% of the eligible population by March 2025 with the aim of 100% coverage by March 2030.

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.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak said: “The NHS has treated record numbers of cancer patients over the last two years, with cancer being diagnosed at an earlier stage more often and survival rates improving across almost all types of cancer. Today’s announcement will help us go further and provide a lifeline to thousands of families across the country.”

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

More than 2,000 people were detected as having cancer, 76% at an earlier stage compared to 29% in 2019 outside of the programme.

Health and social care secretary Steve Barclay said: “Through our screening programme we are now seeing more diagnoses at stage 1 and stage 2 in the most deprived communities which is both a positive step and a practical example of how we are reducing health inequalities.

“Rolling this out further will prolong lives by catching cancer earlier and reducing the levels of treatment required not just benefiting the patient but others waiting for treatment.”

It is estimated that smoking causes 72% of lung cancers, around 35,000 people die and 48,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer each year.

It has one of the lowest survival rates of all cancers which is largely attributed to lung cancer being diagnosed at a late stage when treatment is much less likely to be effective. Treating cancer early improves people’s chance of survival with 60% of people currently surviving stage one cancer for five years or more and 4% at stage four.

The rollout will mean 325,000 people will be newly eligible for a first scan each year with 992,000 scans expected per year in total.

Additional radiographers, due to be appointed as part of the NHS long-term workforce plan, will help to support the programme, the government has said.

Anyone assessed as being at high risk of lung cancer will be referred to have a low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) scan and subsequent diagnosis and treatment if needed.

Those whose scans are negative will be re-invited for further scans every 24 months, until they pass the upper age limit.