30 September 2022
By Laura Donnelly
I share this article with readers because it underlines my concern for NCDs brought on by cigarette smoking and a lack of all types of screening programmes relating to health concerns in the Solomon Islands.
Quote.
Anyone over the age of 55 who has ever smoked will be offered lung cancer screening, under recommendations from government advisers.
The proposals from the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) call for the mass rollout of checks, in order to tackle the most common cause of cancer deaths.
The committee said all former and current smokers aged between 55 and 74 should be invited to an assessment by a health professional. Anyone deemed at high risk of lung cancer would be offered a low dose CT scan, under the plans.
Lung cancer is Britain’s most common cause of cancer death, with smoking the most common cause. Every year there are 48,000 diagnoses and about 35,000 deaths.
Experts warned that lung cancer outcomes in the UK are consistently poor, partly because so many cases are picked up at late stages.
More than half of those diagnosed with stage one lung cancer will survive their cancer for five years or more after diagnosis.
But less than five in 100 people diagnosed with stage four disease are still alive five years later.
Cancer Research UK has welcomed the recommendation, urging governments to roll it out as swiftly as possible.
Decisions will be made by ministers, who have normally accepted the recommendations from the UKNSC. However, implementation of some proposals has taken many years.
One pilot scheme that placed mobile CT scanners in shopping centre car parks quadrupled the number of cases of lung cancer detected at stage one or two, when it is more likely to be curable. In total, 80 per cent of cases were found at these stages, against normal detection rates of 20 per cent.
'Screening could save lives'
Dr Ian Walker, Cancer Research UK’s executive director of policy, said: “We welcome this recommendation and urge governments in all four UK nations to roll out a targeted lung cancer screening programme as swiftly as possible.
“Lung cancer causes more deaths in the UK than any other cancer type, and screening could save lives by diagnosing people at an earlier stage – when treatment is more likely to be successful.”
The last time the UKNSC formally considered screening for lung cancer was 15 years ago, when it recommended against the checks.
The new advice said the approach would cut lung cancer deaths, calling for modelling work to assist detailed recommendations.
It also said anyone undergoing screening who still smokes should be given advice on quitting the habit.
Smoking is responsible for more than 70 per cent of lung cancers and increases the risk of at least 14 other types of cancer.
Dr Walker said: “This is an opportunity for our new Prime Minister to prioritise cancer, and alongside an ambitious and fully funded long-term cancer plan, this could have significant impact for patients across the UK.
“Given smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, it’s vital that smoking cessation is an integral part of the programme. Stop smoking services need to be adequately funded, so people who want to quit can continue to get the support they need after participation in the programme.”
The checks are already being offered under pilot schemes in 23 parts of the country.
Screening advisers said the Targeted Lung Health Checks programme provides a “feasible and effective starting point for implementation in England”.
No such checks are offered in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with the UKNSC warning that this could mean it takes longer for the schemes to be introduced.
Earlier this year Sajid Javid, the former health secretary, promised a “war on cancer”, with a 10-year strategy to improve diagnosis and treatment.
Charities have called on Therese Coffey, his successor, to publish such a plan, amid warnings that almost 55,000 cancer patients in the last six years have faced delays in diagnosis or treatment.
End of quote.
Sources – Telegraph (UK) and Yahoo Medical News.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
