AMSTERDAM – About 400,000 Dutch people between the ages of 60 and 79 will receive an invitation in the coming months to participate in a study into the early detection of lung cancer. It concerns a study in the Netherlands and four other European countries, coordinated by the Rotterdam Erasmus MC, the hospital reports.
The people who will soon be invited live in three regions. The first region where the research will start is Amsterdam, around the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek hospital, which specializes in cancer. The study is intended for people who have smoked for a long time or who have smoked in the past. Early detection of lung cancer in smokers and ex-smokers can reduce mortality from the disease by 25 percent, according to Erasmus MC.
The ‘trial population screening’ will start in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy and France. The researchers want to determine how often a CT scan of the lungs is needed in a population screening and how best to reach people who are most at risk for lung cancer. A total of 26,000 people are being examined. The scientists use questionnaires to find out who is suitable for participation.
In the Netherlands, about 14,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer every year. Complaints often only arise when the cancer has already developed. “Only 3 out of 100 people are still alive after five years if the tumor is discovered at a late stage,” explains researcher Carlijn van der Aalst. “At an early stage, that’s about 60 out of 100 people.” Last year, the Health Council gave a positive advice on the study into the population screening.