Lung cancer is frequently diagnosed at a late stage, when treatment options are limited and survival is poorest. Shifting that dial requires more than a single intervention: LDCT screening is essential for high-risk populations, but earlier detection and diagnosis across a broader population depends on a wider, system-level approach.
That means stronger symptom awareness, faster and more reliable referral pathways, better use of routine clinical interactions to catch incidental findings, and smarter deployment of diagnostic innovation. United, these element can bring forward the stage at which lung cancer is caught and diagnosed.
The Lung Cancer Policy Network supports policymakers and health system leaders to design and implement integrated approaches that connect earlier detection with efficient, high-quality diagnostic pathways.
Increasing the earlier detection of lung cancer
A comprehensive approach to shifting diagnosis earlier
Screening alone cannot close the gap. For health systems to meaningfully shift lung cancer diagnosis to earlier stages, they need coordinated strategies that integrate multiple approaches – from awareness and referral to incidental detection and innovation – tailored to local context and capacity.
Our toolbox supports health system leaders and policymakers to design and implement exactly that.
Harnessing innovation to optimise lung cancer diagnosis
Improving equity, access and outcomes through better diagnosis
Diagnostic innovation is advancing rapidly, but access to it is not. Gaps in infrastructure, workforce and policy mean that the benefits of improved imaging, biomarker testing and data-driven approaches remain out of reach for many health systems and many people with lung cancer.
Our work explores how innovation can be deployed across the full diagnostic pathway, and what health systems need to do to make that happen equitably.
Effective management of incidental pulmonary nodules
Unlocking a critical and underused route to detecting lung cancer earlier
Many people with lung cancer fall outside screening eligibility or never participate in a programme. But lung nodules detected incidentally (through imaging carried out for another reason) offer a parallel route to earlier diagnosis that most health systems are not yet fully utilising.
Our work sets out how structured approaches to incidental pulmonary nodule management can be implemented across diverse health system contexts.
