Ground-breaking lung cancer trial gets under way

The first participants have taken part in a ground-breaking research trial that aims to save lives by improving the early diagnosis of lung cancer. People attending lung health checks in Yorkshire and Hampshire are being invited to take part in the iDx Lung trial, which will offer new types of diagnostic tests to 10,000 people over the next three years. iDx Lung is a collaboration between the University of Leeds, the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Southampton, and healthcare and diagnostic companies, and aims to find new ways to detect lung cancer at an early stage when it is more treatable. This work will help us to target those at most risk and diagnose the disease at an earlier and treatable stage. Richard Neal, Professor of Primary Care Oncology in the School of Medicine , and a GP in the city of Leeds, said: “We are delighted to be working on this important project with the University of Southampton, the NHS and industry partners. "Lung cancer remains a huge problem as we continue to see it diagnosed at a very advanced stage, when curative treatments could have been possible. This work will help us to target those at most risk and diagnose the disease at an earlier and treatable stage.