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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, largely because it is often diagnosed at a late stage, when treatment options are limited and outcomes are poor.1-3

Improving survival requires coordinated policy action across the full continuum of care, from screening to earlier detection and timely diagnosis to optimal management.

Three interconnected priorities

Progress in lung cancer depends on advances in three areas and the connections between them:

Screening

Screening

Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening is the most effective method currently available to detect lung cancer earlier among people at highest risk of developing the disease.4 The evidence is clear: screening finds cancers at earlier, more treatable stages and ultimately helps reduce the number of deaths caused by lung cancer.5-9

However, evidence alone does not save lives. The impact of screening depends on implementation – on who is offered screening, how programmes are designed and how they are integrated into the rest of the health system.

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Earlier detection and diagnosis

Earlier detection and diagnosis

Lung cancer is most often detected after people start experiencing symptoms, by which point the disease is likely to have advanced. Catching it earlier, before symptoms develop or at first presentation, transforms what treatment can achieve.

We know lung cancer can be identified earlier. It requires greater awareness of symptoms among the public and healthcare professionals, stronger referral and diagnostic pathways, better identification and management of incidentally detected lung nodules, and more data and technology to identify at-risk individuals sooner.

Shifting diagnosis to earlier stages is one of the highest-impact interventions available in lung cancer policy.

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Optimal care

Optimal care

Earlier detection only improves survival if the health system can respond. That means timely, coordinated, high-quality care from diagnosis through to treatment and beyond.

Structured care pathways – including multidisciplinary decision-making and clearly defined referral routes – play a proven role in reducing delays, improving patient experience and narrowing inequalities in outcomes.10-13

In many settings, such pathways remain underdeveloped or underutilised.14 15 Strengthening them is essential to delivering the full benefits of earlier detection.

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A system-based challenge

None of these elements works in isolation. Screening without equitable access, earlier detection without diagnostics, and care pathways without effective coordination would only create bottlenecks and leave people behind. Addressing lung cancer therefore requires a coordinated, systems-based approach that aligns policy action across every stage of the pathway. And this is what the Lung Cancer Policy Network exists to support.

References

  1. Bray F, Laversanne M, Sung H, et al. 2024. Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin 74(3): 229-63

  2. Gildea TR, Stacey DB, Kyle HD, et al. 2017. A retrospective analysis of delays in the diagnosis of lung cancer and associated costs. ClinicoEconomics Outcomes Res 9(null): 261-69

  3. Zhang J, Ijzerman MJ, Oberoi J, et al. 2022. Time to diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer: A systematic overview of risk factors, interventions and impact on patient outcomes. Lung Cancer 166: 27-39

  4. Habbab FM, Bédard ELR, Joy AA, et al. 2025. Early Detection of Lung Cancer: A Review of Innovative Milestones and Techniques. J Clin Med: 10.3390/jcm14217812

  5. Bonney A, Malouf R, Marchal C, et al. 2022. Impact of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening on lung cancer-related mortality. Cochrane Database Syst Rev: 10.1002/14651858.CD013829.pub2

  6. Henschke CI, Yip R, Shaham D, et al. 2023. A 20-year Follow-up of the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP). Radiology 309(2): 1-8

  7. Griffin E, Hyde C, Long L, et al. 2020. Lung cancer screening by low-dose computed tomography: a cost-effectiveness analysis of alternative programmes in the UK using a newly developed natural history-based economic model. Diagn Progn Res: 10.1186/s41512-020-00087-y

  8. Lee RW, Nair A, Balata H, et al. 2026. Implementation of the NHS England Lung Cancer Screening Programme over 5 years. Nature Medicine: 10.1038/s41591-026-04292-y

  9. Heist RS, Engelman JA. 2012. SnapShot: nonsmall cell lung cancer. Cancer Cell: 10.1016/j. ccr.2012.03.007

  10. Schrijvers G, van Hoorn A, Huiskes N. 2012. The care pathway: concepts and theories: an introduction. Int J Integr Care 12: e192

  11. Jensen H, Tørring ML, Olesen F, et al. 2015. Diagnostic intervals before and after implementation of cancer patient pathways – a GP survey and registry based comparison of three cohorts of cancer patients. BMC Cancer 15: 308

  12. Maruyama R, Miyake T, Kojo M, et al. 2006. Establishment of a clinical pathway as an effective tool to reduce hospitalization and charges after videoassisted thoracoscopic pulmonary resection. Jpn J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 54(9): 387-90

  13. Woznitza N, Ghimire B, Devaraj A, et al. 2022. Impact of radiographer immediate reporting of X-rays of the chest from general practice on the lung cancer pathway (radioX): a randomised controlled trial. Thorax: 10.1136/ thorax-2022-219210

  14. Otty Z, Brown A, Sabesan S, et al. 2020. Optimal Care Pathways for People with Lung Cancer- a Scoping Review of the Literature. Int J Integr Care 20(3): 14

  15. Lung Cancer Policy Network. 2023. Care pathways for lung cancer: building a foundation for optimal care. London: The Health Policy Partnership

Lung Cancer Policy Network
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