The major London lung cancer screening study SUMMIT has announced findings with potentially huge implications for the treatment of lung cancer in the UK.
Coordinated by the CR UK and UCL Cancer Trials Centre, the study has so far detected 180 lung cancers via CT scan among its participants. Crucially, 70% of these cancers were found at an early stage, when chances of successful treatment are much greater than with a later diagnosis.
Speaking to The Guardian, SUMMIT's chief investigator Professor Sam Janes explained the significance of the results: ‘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.’
SUMMIT is designed for participants living in London whose smoking history puts them at a higher risk of developing cancer. So far, over 12,000 Londoners between the ages of 50 and 77 have taken part, undergoing a lung health check—which involves the CT scan responsible for detecting the cancer—and giving a blood sample for clinical evaluation.
Lung cancer is currently the deadliest form of the disease in the UK, responsible for around 35,000 deaths per year.