Ground-breaking lung cancer research trial underway in Southampton
It aims to improve early diagnosis of the disease
A new ground-breaking research trial that aims to improve the early diagnosis of lung cancer is underway in Southampton.
People attending the NHS Targeted Lung Health Checks are being invited to take part in the iDx Lung trial, which will offer new types of tests to 10,000 people over the next three years.
The research aims to find new ways to detect lung cancer at an early stage, when it is more treatable.
Every year in the UK, 25,000 people are diagnosed with advanced, inoperable lung cancer, making it the biggest cause of cancer death in the UK and worldwide.
Screening with CT scanning is being tested by the NHS and it is hoped the iDx Lung trial will not only drive up early detection rates but will find more cost-effective ways to diagnose the disease.
Professor Peter Johnson, Director of the CRUK Southampton Centre and Chief Investigator of trial, said:
“We know that lung cancer can be treated successfully if we catch it early, but too often it can go unnoticed and is then picked up at a late stage when treatment options are limited.
"By bringing some of the latest molecular technology to this problem, we hope that we can find better ways to detect lung cancer in its early stages and make sure people have the best chance of a cure.”
iDx Lung is a collaboration between the Cancer Research UK Southampton Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Southampton, the University of Leeds and healthcare and diagnostic companies.
The trial team are working alongside NHS England’s Targeted Lung Health Checks programme and the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial. People at high risk of lung cancer are being invited to attend a CT scanning unit.
The iDx Lung trial will ask 10,000 people who attend scans across Hampshire and Yorkshire to also give a nasal swab and a blood sample.
72-year-old Brian Gray, from Southampton, agreed to take part in the iDx Lung trial after being invited to the Targeted Lung Health Check.
He said:
“I came to the scan to find out what’s wrong with me, and if there’s nothing, at least doing this will help someone else, which feels really good.
"I wasn’t sure what I was letting myself in for at first, but the team explained everything to me really well. Having the samples taken was very straight-forward, no problems at all. So, if anyone else is invited to come along, don’t be worried by it.
“At my age I feel that being part of research is a good thing. If there’s anything in my body that can help someone else, then fair play!”
The trial is currently taking place at the Royal South Hants Hospital, but in the autumn it will move to a mobile unit which can travel around the county with the NHS Targeted Lung Health Check vans.
The trial is being funded by a £2.75m grant from UK Research and Innovation’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) and £750,000 from Cancer Research UK and is part of a total investment of £10 million from the Government’s Early Diagnosis Mission.