Key points from article :
Giving smokers and ex-smokers a CT scan uncovers cancerous lung tumours at an early stage.
Lung cancer is a particularly brutal form of cancer because it is hard to detect.
Three out of four cases are diagnosed at stage three or four.
CT scanning meant that 70% of the growths were identified when the disease was at stage one or two.
"With Summit study, seven out of 10 are potentially curable, because they were detected earlier," - Sam Janes, senior investigator.
Found 180 cases of lung cancer among 12,100 smokers and ex-smokers.
The government should move to bring in routine screening of smokers and ex-smokers.
“.....early detection offers best chance of curative treatment and saving more lives,” - Robert Rintoul, chair of clinical advisory group of the UK Lung Cancer Coalition.
Proprtion of patients diagnosed at stage one or two rose from 19.5% in 2013 to 29% in 2019.
NHS England is carrying out small-scale trials in which people are offered a CT scan to check their lungs.
