Professor Sarah Tabrizi elected to Royal Society for pioneering Huntington's research
16 May 2024
Publish date: 24 May 2021
Recruitment of participants into the largest lung cancer screening study in Europe has been completed with a total 13,035 taking part. Participants began joining the SUMMIT Study in April 2019 and over the last two years the study has worked hard to include as many people as possible from north and east London who fit the criteria for a lung health check. The SUMMIT Study’s aim is to detect lung cancer early among at-risk Londoners with a smoking history, and to support the development of a new blood test for the early detection of multiple cancer types.
Although participant recruitment has ended, the study continues until 2023. Participants will have a minimum of three appointments depending on their health status. Those participants whose CT lung scans reveal signs that need monitoring return for follow up appointments or will be referred on for further investigation and treatment if necessary. Early analysis of the SUMMIT Study lung screening has shown that at least 180 early-stage lung cancers have already been found in participants in this group.
Sam Janes, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at UCL/UCLH and Chief Investigator of the SUMMIT Study said: ‘It is fantastic that we have recruited this many people into the SUMMIT study. The study has been a hugely complex project to organise with the additional challenge the COVID-19 pandemic has posed. This resulted in pausing of the study twice - in 2020 and earlier this year - and also changing the format for lung health check appointments to ensure infection control. To reach over 13,000 study participants through a massive team effort is a significant achievement.”
“This study is very important in showing that lung cancer screening can, and does, identify early lung cancers. We have treated over 180 people who had no symptoms of illness and caught their cancers early. This is not often the case for lung cancer which is usually only spotted when it is already well advanced. We will continue to see participants in the study and analyse the study data in order to contribute to the evidence for introducing a widespread lung cancer screening programme.”
