Lung cancer experts fear extra 2,500 deaths from stay-at-home advice

STAY-AT-HOME guidance for people with a cough during the pandemic could lead to 2,500 additional lung cancer deaths, a charity has warned.

The UK Lung Cancer Coalition (UKLCC) said improvements in survival that were occurring before Covid-19 were now in “jeopardy” unless urgent action was taken. It estimates that delays in diagnosis caused by lockdowns and restrictions may result in a drop of up to 5.3 per cent in five-year survival rates in England.

The proportion of people living at least five years could fall from 17.6 per cent (for patients diagnosed from 2014 to 2018) to about 12.3 per cent for those diagnosed during the pandemic, it said.

The coalition warned that this could lead to more than 2,500 extra preventable deaths in Britain.

It comes after official data revealed the number of people dying at home is now the highest since the turn of the century, with 21,471 excess deaths occurring in private homes between January and June this year.

Prof Robert Rintoul, the chairman of the UKLCC’S clinical advisory group, said: “Before the pandemic, real progress was being made in raising fiveyear survival rates.

“But Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on early diagnosis of lung cancer. Government guidance to stay at home with a cough, reluctance to engage with healthcare services during lockdown, and pressures on already over-burdened health services have inevitably resulted in a fall in referrals and increase in late-stage presentations of the disease. We need to take urgent action to get back on track.”

The UKLCC’S is calling for a national screening programme as well as twiceyearly national and regional public awareness campaigns linked to a dedicated lung cancer helpline.