Study Says Lung Cancer Survival Increases Sharply If Caught Early

According to a recent study in England, increased screening to identify and monitor people at high risk for lung cancer could increase their chance for five-year survival by nearly three-quarters. 

Researchers at the University of Liverpool suggest leaders in Britain set up a national screening program to catch more lung cancer earlier, with the hope of saving, or preserving, the lives of people diagnosed with the disease. 

Already difficult to treat, lung cancer often poses an even greater challenge for doctors because 70 percent of the time it is not found until it is at an advanced stage and possibly incurable. 

The large trial undertaken by researchers is the first to be conducted in England, and uses a population-based questionnaire to identify people at high risk for the disease, researchers said.  A similar trial in the United States is said to have reduced lung cancer death by about 20 percent. 

The Thoracic Clinic at Anna Jaques Cancer Center, affiliated with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), offers comprehensive thoracic care including screening, diagnosis and staging for cancers of the lung and esophagus.  This clinic delivers the advanced care you’d expect from a major Boston medical center, with a convenient, personalized approach right here in your community. 

Early detection of lung cancer could save your life.  For more information on the services offered at the Thoracic Clinic at Anna Jaques Cancer Center, please click here.