Europe has reached a turning point for lung cancer screening. With growing political support and more countries moving from pilots to implementation, the question is no longer whether screening works, but how to deliver it effectively, equitably and at scale.
Early adopters throughout the region are already demonstrating what that takes in practice. The Network’s new report, Advancing lung cancer screening: learning from implementation in Europe, draws together key insights from these experiences and sets out four lessons for successful implementation:
- Reach the people at highest risk, tailoring eligibility criteria beyond age and smoking status, using multivariable risk models to identify those most likely to benefit and reduce selection disparities.
- Reduce barriers to participation, combining systematic, population-based invitations with outreach tailored to underserved groups, to boost uptake and narrow inequalities.
- Amplify the impact of screening, embedding smoking cessation support and wider public health initiatives within screening pathways to maximise health benefit and cost-effectiveness.
- Integrate screening into health systems, with the nodule management protocols, digital infrastructure, quality assurance and downstream capacity to act on what screening finds.
As more countries move towards implementation, these lessons can help translate political commitment into earlier diagnosis, better outcomes and fewer lives lost to lung cancer.
Whether you are a policymaker, healthcare professional, advocate or researcher, we encourage you to explore the report, consider how these lessons apply in your setting, and share them with colleagues working to advance earlier detection across Europe. Together, we can help turn momentum into meaningful progress for people at risk of lung cancer.
