ONCOLOGY
are available and economic analysis is performed. The study, being undertaken across Scotland, is a randomised trial with adults aged 50-75 years who are at high risk of lung cancer due to smoking heavily for 20 years or more, or due to a family history of lung cancer. Of these, 6,000 had the blood test for autoantibodies, and 6,000 received regular diagnosis and care. The study is now following study participants over a two year period to find out if this test can reduce the incidence of patients with late stage lung cancer (stage III or IV) compared with routine care. The research is a collaboration between NHS health boards in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire and Tayside, the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow, Nottingham, Toronto and the Scottish Cancer Registry.
Dr Stuart Schembri, honorary senior lecturer, University of Dundee, and co-chief investigator of the study, commented: “Lung cancer is a serious and life threatening illness and our best hope for successful treatment is to detect it as early as possible. Heavy smokers are particularly at risk, but it is just not possible to scan everyone who is considered high risk; and a CT scan alone can falsely suggest lung cancer or pick up incidental, non-clinically relevant findings, causing unnecessary worry and expense. We therefore need to find a way to identify
which of the people at high risk need a scan and a way to detect lung cancer before patients present with symptoms. “Research, over many years, has identified that when cancer is present – even at an undetectable level when it is not clinically evident – the body’s natural defence mechanism produces auto-antibodies. These auto-antibodies are in response to proteins on cancer cells, which are different to normal cells. By measuring in blood tests whether a person has these auto-antibodies in their blood, we can determine if they might benefit from a CT scan.” Dr Schembri concluded: “This test allows us to scan from a much more informed position and removes the stress around many patients unnecessarily having to go through a CT scan. But most importantly, we
feel it may help us to detect lung cancer in its earliest stages when we have an improved chance of successful treatment.” A further encouraging study presented at the Winter Meeting was the National Lung Cancer Audit’s latest results on surgical activity. Capturing data from 4,892 cases who underwent surgery in 2013, it shows both an increase in the number of surgical procedures being undertaken to treat lung cancer and an increase in the survival rate. Dr Paul Beckett, consultant lung specialist at Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, co-clinical lead of the National Lung Cancer Audit, and member of the British Thoracic Society, said: “The good news is that we’re seeing an increase in the volume of surgery being undertaken for lung cancer with very strong success rates. In the UK, only one in six lung cancer patients have surgery which is low compared to other countries. But this audit reveals that the early survival rate is very high, with 96% of patients living beyond 90 days. “This is very encouraging for both patients and health professionals alike. We need to spread this message widely, across both the NHS and society, so more people with the condition undertake surgery and get the chance of living a longer life with a better quality of life.”
© Sebastian Kaulitzki - Fotolia.
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