UK Lung Cancer Coalition Report

Experts fear thousands of additional UK lung cancer deaths due to pandemic, reports group chaired by our Thoracic Cancer Programme co-Lead.

Survival improvements in ‘jeopardy’ unless urgent action taken says new report.

Hard-won gains in improving lung cancer outcomes are now in ‘jeopardy’ with ‘thousands of additional lung cancer deaths’ feared as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, says a report published today (25th November) by the UK Lung Cancer Coalition (UKLCC).

“Prior to the pandemic, real progress was being made in raising five-year survival rates,” says Professor Robert Rintoul, chair of the UKLCC’s clinical advisory group, Professor of Thoracic Oncology, University of Cambridge and co-Lead of our Thoracic Oncology Programme.

“But COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on early diagnosis of lung cancer and has compromised our target of driving up five-year UK survival to 25 percent by 2025.”

Estimates reveal that delays in diagnosis caused by COVID-19 lockdowns may result in a drop of up to 5.3% in five-year survival in England - from 17.6% (for patients diagnosed 2014 to 2018) pre-pandemic - to around 12.3% for those diagnosed during the pandemic. This could equate to over two and a half thousand additional deaths in the UK.

“Lung cancer patients have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Government guidance to stay at home with a cough, reluctance to engage with healthcare services during lockdown, and pressures on already over-burdened health services, have inevitably resulted in a fall in referrals and increase in late-stage presentations of the disease.

"We need to take urgent action to get back on track,” adds Professor Rintoul.

The UKLCC’s ’Route back to 25 by 25’ report, compiled by lung cancer clinicians and nurse specialists from across the UK, is demanding a ‘levelling up’ in lung cancer, with a fully funded, screening programme across all four UK nations.

In addition, it is calling for twice-yearly national and regional public awareness campaigns, linked to a dedicated lung cancer helpline, to ensure easy access to support and diagnosis for patients, without placing an additional burden on primary care.

Lung cancer has consistently been the UK’s biggest cancer killer with 35,100 people dying each year. It accounts for more than a fifth of all UK cancer deaths (21%) - and lung cancer in never smokers is the eighth most common cause of cancer-related death in the UK. However, lung cancer can be cured if diagnosed early enough. The UK has one of the worst five-year lung cancer survival rates in Europe.

Other key recommendations in the report, include:
• Alongside surgery, the NHS should invest in Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) to enable widespread access to curative treatments for lung cancer
• Addressing workforce shortages by urging the Government to invest in training for all the disciplines of the lung cancer multi-disciplinary team
• Improving access to more near real-time data in lung cancer
• Patients with advanced disease should be monitored to see how access to immunotherapy is impacting on survival outcomes.

“It has been heart-breaking to see the hard work and achievements of those involved in lung cancer care impacted so enormously by COVID-19. We must rally together and ensure that the pre-pandemic progress in lung cancer outcomes was not in vain. We can fix UK lung cancer,” says Martin Grange, Chair of the UKLCC.

Read The Route back to 25 by 25 report by the UK Lung Cancer Coalition

25 Nov 2021