Study Says Lung Cancer Survival Increases Sharply If Caught Early

According to a recent study in England, increased screening to identify and monitor people at high risk for lung cancer could increase their chance for five-year survival by nearly three-quarters. 

Researchers at the University of Liverpool suggest leaders in Britain set up a national screening program to catch more lung cancer earlier, with the hope of saving, or preserving, the lives of people diagnosed with the disease. 

Already difficult to treat, lung cancer often poses an even greater challenge for doctors because 70 percent of the time it is not found until it is at an advanced stage and possibly incurable. 

The large trial undertaken by researchers is the first to be conducted in England, and uses a population-based questionnaire to identify people at high risk for the disease, researchers said.  A similar trial in the United States is said to have reduced lung cancer death by about 20 percent. 

SSM Health offers a simple assessment to learn your risk of lung cancer.  Your results are immediate and if you’re determined to be high-risk, you may be eligible for a screening with the SSM Health Cancer Care experts.  Early detection of lung cancer could save your life.  

At St. Louis CyberKnife, we treat early stage lung cancer with the CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System.  CyberKnife painlessly delivers precise beams of radiation to tumors and lesions, without requiring incisions, hospitalization, or long recovery time.  It can serve as an effective lung cancer treatment and is an especially good option for patients with complex tumors or patients who prefer a nonsurgical way to treat their cancer.  To learn more about CyberKnife technology, please click here, or for more information on St. Louis CyberKnife, please click here.