Mobile NHS scanning units parked at supermarket car parks, sports stadiums and busy high streets have helped detect 10,678 lung cancers in England — more than three quarters of them at stage 1 or 2. New NHS figures show the community-based Lung Cancer Screening Programme, launched in 2019 in the areas worst affected by the disease, is reaching people where they already are to pick up cancers when treatment is most effective.
Detecting lung cancer at an early stage makes a major difference: people diagnosed at the earliest stages are almost 13 times more likely to survive for five years than those diagnosed late. The programme targets current and former smokers aged 55–74, offering an in-depth lung health check and, for those assessed as high risk, a low-dose CT (LDCT) scan.
So far the scheme has invited more than 3.3 million people and delivered LDCT scans to over 800,000 individuals. It has reached half of England’s most at-risk populations and already shows improved early diagnosis in deprived communities, with over a third of people from the most deprived areas being diagnosed early since the programme began.
One person helped by the service is 74-year-old Ken Roberts from Ladybridge, Bolton. Ken, a manufacturing company director and grandfather of five, had no symptoms but accepted an on-the-spot offer of a scan when a mobile unit was parked at his local Morrisons. Follow-up checks including a PET scan and biopsy confirmed stage 1 lung cancer. Ken had robotic-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and, because the cancer was caught early, needed no further treatment. He describes being glad he went and urging others to accept invitations for checks.
Under the Government’s National Cancer Plan, the aim is for 75% of people diagnosed with cancer to survive five years or more by 2035. Expanding the lung screening programme across England is a key part of that ambition: national rollout by 2030 will invite over 6 million people for lung health checks and is expected to support the diagnosis of up to 50,000 cancers.
Clinical and charity leaders welcome the progress. The programme is built to be convenient and accessible — bringing scanners into communities rather than asking people to travel — and is already identifying many cancers at a treatable stage. Lung cancer remains one of England’s most common cancers, with around 26,000 deaths a year. Smoking causes about seven in ten cases; other risks include second-hand smoke and exposure to certain gases and chemicals.
Risk assessment for a lung health check uses validated prediction models that consider age, sex, ethnicity, detailed smoking history, body mass index and any personal history of cancer or lung disease. Those judged high risk are offered LDCT scanning. Since the start of the programme, thousands have benefited from earlier diagnosis and access to curative treatment.
Lung cancer often produces no obvious symptoms until it has grown or spread. Common signs to watch for include a persistent cough lasting more than three weeks, coughing up blood, chest pain, breathlessness, unexplained weight loss or persistent fatigue. The screening programme was designed specifically to help people who do not have symptoms but may be at elevated risk.
NHS leaders encourage everyone who receives an invitation for a lung health check to take it up, even if they feel well. If you think you are eligible but have not been invited, contact your GP. And if you have any worrying symptoms, see your GP promptly rather than waiting for a screening invitation.
