Lung Ambition Alliance report – Lung Cancer Screening : The Cost of Inaction
A report published by the Lung Ambition Alliance on 8 July 2021 , ‘ Lung Cancer Screening : The Cost of Inactionn ’, shows that lung cancer screening presents a critical opportunity to significantly improve survival . 1 Nearly one quarter of deaths from lung cancer could be avoided in high- of risk populations through the adoption targeted screening with low-dose computed tomography ( LDCT
) scans , as based on the results of the NELSON study . 2 The study in over 13,000 peoplee found that in a European high-risk population deaths were reduced by screening with LDCT scans to 18.4 % of total deaths compared to 24.4 % in the control arm after ten years
’ follow-up .
Lung cancer causes 1.8 million deaths per year and carries the greatest economic burden of all cancers , costing € 18.8 billion per year in Europe alone . 3 , 4 Developed for the Lung Ambition Alliance , the new report found that large-scale implementation of targeted screening using LDCT scans can significantly reduce this cost burden and improve survival for patients
– by increasing the number of lung cancers found at early stages where there is better prognosis and more treatment options are available .
Currently , only around one in five patients worldwide are diagnosed at
Stage I , where they have between a 68-92 % chance of surviving five years – compared with under just 10 % when diagnosed at Stage IV . 5 , 6,7
Early-stage lung cancer can be managed with less complex
, less costly clinical pathways than when it is diagnosed at later stages , allowing significant cost savings to be realised through early diagnosis . 8 , 9 , 10 As lung cancer progresses , healthcare costss rise from increased frequency of hospital admissions , additional rounds of treatment , additional care requirements and greater likelihood of palliative care . 11 1
Earlier diagnosiss also reduces lost productivity from cancer overall , as more patients and carers can remain active and in some cases their cancer becomes a treatable condition rather than a fatal one. 10 In Europe
, productivity loss from premature mortality from lung cancer costs almost € 10 billion every year . 3
Professor Giorgio Scagliotti, Past President and Interim Chief Science Officer of IASLC , Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Turin School of Medicine , Italy , said
: “ Everyone with lung cancer deserves care that offers the greatestt chance of early detection and improved survival . The evidence from large-scale randomized clinical trials is indisputable : targeted , low- save dose
CT screening has the potential to patients ’ lives .