Lung health checks trial detects cancer earlier in the community

A ground-breaking lung health research trial is reaching more people in Southampton thanks to a new mobile sample unit.

The iDx Lung trial is piloting new diagnostic tests to find ways to detect lung cancer at an early stage when it is more treatable.

It is a collaboration between the CRUK Southampton Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Southampton, the University of Leeds and healthcare and diagnostic companies.

Since the trial opened to recruitment in June, it has been taking place at the Royal South Hampshire Hospital. But now a new mobile research sample collection unit means the trial team can move around the county, reaching more people in the community.

Targeted lung health checks

Every year in the UK, 25,000 people are diagnosed with advanced, inoperable lung cancer. It is the biggest cause of cancer death in the UK and worldwide.

The iDx Lung team are working alongside NHS England’s Targeted Lung Health Checks programme. They invite people at high risk of lung cancer to attend a CT scan in a mobile NHS scanning unit.

The trial will ask 10,000 people who attend scans across Hampshire and Yorkshire to also give a nasal swab and a blood sample. These samples will be analysed for changes that could show the early signs of cancer developing.

The aim is to find out if using these tests, alongside the Targeted Lung Health Check programme, can help increase diagnosis rates in people with very early signs of lung cancer. They can then begin treatment when it is far more likely to be successful.

Detecting very early signs of cancer

It is hoped the iDx Lung trial will not only drive-up early detection rates, but also find more cost-effective ways to diagnose the disease.

Professor Peter Johnson, Director of the CRUK Southampton Centre and Chief Investigator of the iDx Lung trial, said:

“We know that lung cancer can be treated successfully if we catch it early, but too often it can go unnoticed and is then picked up at a late stage when treatment options are limited.

“By bringing some of the latest molecular technology to this problem, we hope that we can find better ways to detect lung cancer in its early stages and make sure people have the best chance of a cure.”

The trial is being funded by a £2.75m grant from UK Research and Innovation’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) and £750,000 from Cancer Research UK. It is part of a total investment of £10 million from the Government’s Early Diagnosis Mission.

The research collaborators for the trial include Roche Diagnostics, Oncimmune, Inivata, BC Platforms, the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson, and the Southampton Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC), who will carry out the laboratory analysis of the samples.