SUMMIT, a CTC-coordinated study looking to improve the early detection of lung cancer, opened to recruitment at London sites in April.
SUMMIT has two aims: to spot lung cancer among at-risk Londoners early, when the chance of successful treatment is greatest, and to support the development of a new blood test for the early detection of multiple cancer types, including lung cancer. The first patient was recruited at UCLH last month.
Trial coordinator Anne-Marie Mullin remarked: ‘We’re very proud to have the study up and running; we have 200 patients on board already and hope to recruit up to 50 000 over the coming 15 months, a number which demonstrates the far-reaching potential which SUMMIT has.’
As reported on these pages before, SUMMIT will provide evidence to inform a potential national lung cancer screening programme. Currently in England, people are offered screening for breast, bowel and cervical cancer, but not lung cancer.
SUMMIT is delivered by the UCLH Cancer Collaborative in close collaboration with UCL, and GRAIL, a US healthcare company focused on the early detection of lung cancer. More information can be found at the study’s website.