Results from the UK Lung Screening Trial (UKLS), the first lung cancer CT screening trial in the UK, have provided unequivocal support for lung cancer screening in identified high risk groups.
The findings presented at the 2021 IASLC World Lung Cancer Conference and published in the Lancet Regional Health Europe will also be presented to the UK National Screening Committee.
The UKLS study of single LDCT (low dose computed tomography) indicates a reduction of lung cancer death of similar magnitude to major trials outside the UK, including the US National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) and the Dutch-Belgian NELSON trial.
Eligible groups aged 50-75 were assessed with the LLP risk score (for risk of developing lung cancer over five years). From October 2011 to February 2013, UKLS researchers randomly allocated 4,055 high risk participants to either a single invitation to screening with LDCT or to no screening (usual care).
Data were collected on lung cancer cases and deaths to 29 February 2020 through linkage to national registries. The primary outcome was mortality due to lung cancer. Researchers included the results in a random-effects meta-analysis to provide a synthesis of the latest randomised trial evidence.
1,987 participants in the intervention and 1,981 in the usual care arms were followed for approximately seven years. 86 cancers were diagnosed in the LDCT arm and 75 in the control arm. 30 lung cancer deaths were reported in the screening arm, and 46 in the control arm. The benefit in terms of lung cancer mortality was seen most strikingly in years 3 to 6 after randomisation.
The results from nine randomised controlled trials, including the UKLS, were included in the meta-analysis, which indicated a significant reduction in lung cancer mortality with a pooled overall relative rate of 0·84 from nine eligible trials (i.e. a 16% relative reduction in lung cancer).
Source: University of Liverpool