New testing regime hope of raising lung cancer survival rate

TRIALS of a new lung cancer testing regime have shown a significant reduction in cases detected at a late stage when the disease cannot be cured.

The study found that blood tests followed by scanning led to an improvement in patients’ chances of beating the disease.

Lung cancer is the commonest cancer in Scotland, affecting more than 5,000 people every year. Around 4,000 people die from the disease annually.

The toll means Scotland has one of the highest death rate for the disease in the world. But often patients only seek medical help when they develop symptoms such as a long-standing cough and breathlessness.

Early detection means more treatment could still be possible, including surgery.

The two-year Early Detection of Cancer of the Lung Scotland (ECLS) involved more than 12,000 patients north of the Border.

They were recruited through their GPs because they were at risk of developing lung cancer – such as present and former smokers, particularly those with a family history of the disease.

They were given blood tests that check for specific antibodies that are produced in the very early stages of the development of the cancer. Those with positive results were then given CT scans over a two-year period to check for the development of early tumours in the lungs before tell-tale symptoms of the disease appeared.

The group given the blood tests and scans were compared to

‘Diagnosed at an earlier stage’

a group of patients who were not. The trial demonstrated a ‘statistically significant’ reduction in late-stage diagnoses of lung cancer. After two years, 127 lung cancers were detected in the patients.

In those who had been given the blood tests and scans, 59 per cent of their lung cancers were diagnosed at a late stage compared to 73 per cent in the group who were not being monitored.

Frank Sullivan, professor of primary care medicine at the University of St Andrews, was the chief investigator for the ECLS trial.

He said: ‘I hope that the results of this trial will have globally significant implications for the early detection of lung cancer by showing how a simple blood test, followed by CT scans, is able to all increase the number of patients diagnosed at an earlier stage of the disease, when surgery is still possible and prospects for survival much higher.’

Further follow-up analyses will be carried out after five and ten years. The ECLS research is thought to be the largest randomised, controlled trial for the detection of lung cancer using blood-based bio-markers, with 12,208 patients taking part.

It was supported by the University of Dundee, NHS Tayside and co-funded by Oncimmune – the company that developed the new blood test – the Scottish Chief

Scientist Office and the Scottish Government.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: ‘We have a clear imperative commitment to increase early detection rates of lung cancer and a number of pieces of work are under way to ensure Scotland contributes to the emerging evidence base.’

The results of the trial have been published by the European Respiratory Journal in an online pre-print of the peer-reviewed results.

The study states: ‘The test is an innovative diagnostic test for early detection of lung cancer.’