HPP and Lung Ambition Alliance highlight the cost of not implementing lung cancer screening in landmark report

On 8 July, the Lung Ambition Alliance launched a new report titled Lung cancer screening: the cost of inaction. The report, developed by The Health Policy Partnership, highlights the major public health and economic burden of lung cancer and the importance of early detection in reducing this. The work was endorsed by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, accounting for 1.8 million deaths per year, as well as costing European health systems €18.8 billion a year. One of the key reasons for the high mortality rate is that too many cases are detected at an advanced stage.

‘Everyone with lung cancer deserves care that offers the greatest chance of early detection and improved survival. The evidence from large-scale randomized clinical trials is indisputable: targeted, low-dose CT screening has the potential to save patients’ lives.’

– Professor Giorgio Scagliotti, IASLC