Early detection halts lung deaths

EARLY screening for lung cancer can give sufferers of the world’s biggest killer cancer another 20 years of life, a study shows.

The research, which examined the survival rates of 87,000 people over 20 years, found four out of five people diagnosed with early stage lung cancer lived for two more decades.

But, only 5% of those suffering from stage four lung cancer, when the disease had spread, survived five years or more. The Early Lung and

Cardiac Action Program at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York, found only 16% of lung cancers are diagnosed at an early stage as symptoms, such as coughing up blood, appear later. It recommends yearly screening programmes.

Lead author Dr Claudia Henschke said: “While screening doesn’t prevent cancers from occurring, it is an important tool in identifying lung cancers in their early stage when they can be surgically removed.”