Thousands of lung cancers have been detected early thanks to NHS scanning trucks stationed in frequently visited areas, such as supermarket car parks, stadiums and high streets.
Around 10,678 cancers have been found since the trucks were first rolled out, more than three quarters of which having been caught in the early stages.
The scheme forms part of the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme, the largest initiative in NHS history aimed at improving early lung cancer diagnosis.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England National Clinical Director for Cancer, called the results of the programme “fantastic”.
He said: “The Lung Cancer Screening Programme has been designed around where people already are, bringing scanners into their local communities to make it easier for people to get checked.
“It is great to see the positive public response to this programme, and rolling this out nationwide will help us save even more lives in the future.”
The screening programme was launched in 2019 in the areas more affected by the disease, and targets current and former smokers aged from 55 to 74.
It is set to be rolled out across the whole of England by 2030, in order to meet the target put forward in the Government’s National Cancer Plan for 75% of people diagnosed with cancer to survive for five years or more by 2035.
The scheme seeks primarily to detect cancer while it is in its early stages, at which point those affected by the illness are almost 13 times more likely to survive compared to those who are diagnosed late.
James Murray, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said: “Catching cancer early is a powerful way to save lives and ensure people live better with cancer, and this programme shows what the NHS can achieve when we take healthcare to people, rather than waiting for them to come to us.”
He added: “I urge anyone who receives an invitation to take it up – it could be the most important thing you do this year.”
Those undergoing a lung health check are assessed by prediction models, which take into account factors including age, sex, ethnicity and smoking history. Persons deemed high risk are then offered a low-dose CT (LDCT) scan.
More than 3.3 million people have received invitations to attend a lung health check since the start of the programme, with more than 800,000 of those assessed having undergone an LDCT scan.