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16 May 2023

Lung cancer screening program could reduce deaths by a quarter

  • VCCC Alliance
  • Cancer Australia
  • VACCHO

The Federal Government’s $260 million investment in a new National Lung Cancer Screening Program will have a massive impact on reducing the number of deaths from Australia’s biggest cancer killer, says Associate Professor Gavin Wright.

“Nothing else we do can result in a 20 to 25 per cent reduction in lung cancer mortality,” said A/Prof Wright, VCCC Alliance Research and Education Lead, Lung Cancer.

“This is the biggest single impact we can have on lung cancer. The lung cancer community is overjoyed by this announcement.”

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women in Australia, with the number of new cases diagnosed continuing to increase year by year.

Meanwhile, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities carry a much higher burden when it comes to smoking and cancer rates and are twice as likely to develop and die from lung cancer as non-Indigenous Australians, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

The 2023-24 federal budget announcement followed a lengthy process including a National Lung Cancer Screening Enquiry and report by Cancer Australia. The VCCC Alliance established a Lung Cancer Screening Interest Group, led by A/Prof Wright, and galvanised a multi-disciplinary group of 24 experts from five institutions, which developed a detailed plan and submitted it to the enquiry. A/Prof Wright was a member and then Chair of Cancer Australia’s Lung Cancer Advisory Group.

Program could prevent 12,000 deaths

According to modelling by Cancer Australia, a national screening program could prevent 12,000 deaths from lung cancer over 10 years.

Under the new program, eligible Australians aged between 50 and 70 years with a history of cigarette smoking can have scans every two years, including through mobile screening services for some regional areas.

VCCC Alliance’s Aboriginal Programs Manager, Brooke Conley, said the new program could be a "game-changer" for lung cancer outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“It is important we get this right and that we create a culturally appropriate screening program that meets the needs of the Community."

“We are working closely with representatives from the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), Deakin University and the National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research at Australia National University, to develop and implement a screening program that could lead to improved access and experiences of care, and reduce the impact of lung cancer in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities.”

VACCHO Chief Executive Officer Jill Gallagher AO also welcomed this week’s announcement. “This is an exciting initiative with the potential to improve access to life-saving early detection of lung cancer in Aboriginal Communities.

"We look forward to working with our allies to develop a culturally safe lung cancer screening program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

The 2023-24 Federal Budget also includes almost $240 million to address inequity, with funding to ensure mainstream cancer services are culturally safe and accessible to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as funding to build the capacity and capability of the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services sector to support cancer on the ground.

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