SUMMIT Study catches up with pre-pandemic follow up appointments

As World Lung Cancer Day approaches (1 August) the SUMMIT Study reports that it has made great strides in catching up with patients whose nodule follow up appointments were cancelled due to COVID-19.

The follow up clinics restarted on 7 July and already over 75% of those SUMMIT Study participants have been booked or seen, with a 95% attendance rate.

As part of the SUMMIT Study lung health check pathway, these follow up appointments usually take place three months after the first CT lung scan if there are any signs that monitoring is required. Almost 600 appointments were either suspended or were due but could not be booked because of the pandemic. Extra clinics have been arranged at the four sites where the lung health checks take place, with each seeing up to four and a half times the number of people than usual.

“It has been a great effort by the team to get the SUMMIT Study up and running again,” says Sam Janes, professor of respiratory medicine at UCL/UCLH and Chief Investigator of the SUMMIT Study. “I am hugely grateful to the UCL Cancer Trials Centre, clinical fellows, senior research nurses, the SUMMIT contact centre and the site teams for working so hard to make sure that these participants are seen. As we know, early diagnosis is key to successful lung cancer treatment so these follow up appointments are crucial.”

Recruitment of new participants to the SUMMIT Study will begin again in the autumn.