The science of lung cancer diagnosis is rapidly evolving. Advances in imaging, biomarker testing and data-driven approaches are creating new opportunities to detect lung cancer earlier, characterise it more accurately and get people to the right treatment sooner. But not everyone is able to benefit from these innovations access; gaps in infrastructure, workforce capacity and policy implementation mean these advances are not reaching health systems or patients equally. The result is that innovation is reinforcing inequities in diagnosis and survival, rather than mitigating them.
Getting this right requires a comprehensive and coordinated approach that spans the full diagnostic pathway: from a person’s first interaction with the health system through to diagnosis and onward management.
What optimising diagnosis can deliver
A stronger, more innovative diagnostic pathway helps health systems:
- reduce delays and missed opportunities for earlier diagnosis
- expand access to diagnostic technologies across populations and settings
- improve accuracy and consistency of diagnosis
- support multidisciplinary coordination across primary care, specialist services and diagnostics
- build the data, infrastructure and workforce capacity that high-quality diagnosis requires.
Our report
Our report explores how the diagnostic process can be strengthened and made more equitable at every stage of care. It supports health system leaders to:
- bolster the diagnostic pathway across all stages, including pre-diagnosis, diagnostic testing and post-diagnosis
- expand equitable access to diagnostic innovation
- improve timeliness and efficiency of diagnosis
- build the infrastructure and workforce needed for high-quality diagnostic services
- integrating multidisciplinary expertise across the care pathway.