20,000 volunteers sought for lung cancer screening in France
Being a heavy smoker or ex-smoker is among the criteria for the life-saving programme
France is trialling a new lung cancer screening campaign for smokers and ex-smokers
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Researchers launching a new campaign in France are seeking 20,000 heavy smokers or ex-smokers to take part in a screening programme, which aims to detect very early signs of cancer.
The programme, named Impulsion, is launching in five regions between now and 2027: Ile-de-France, Grand Est, Pays de la Loire, Rhône-Alpes, and Provence Côte-d’Azur.
It will test and research a screening campaign that, if successful, will roll out nationwide in 2030, in the same image as existing screening programmes for other cancers (breast, bowel, and cervical).
It will aim to detect very early signs of lung cancer in participants, before any symptoms have appeared. The earlier that cancer is detected, the longer the life expectancy of the patient.
Lung cancer is one of the deadliest forms; more than 30,000 people in France die from it every year, with almost 95% of cases developing after the patient is aged 50. Smoking is related to 80% of lung cancer cases.
The criteria for volunteer participants includes:
Be aged 50 to 74
Be a smoker, or an ex-smoker, and have smoked at least a packet of cigarettes a day for 20 years, or two packets a day for 10 years
The programme will offer several scans.
“There will be an initial scan, followed by another scan after a year,” said Professor Marie-Pierre Revel, one of the project leaders, a radiologist and lung cancer specialist, reports FranceInfo. “And then, if both of those are negative, we move to a two-year interval.”
If one of the scans comes back positive for signs of lung cancer, the participant will then move to an appropriate treatment plan.
“The whole point of screening is that, unlike when we wait for symptoms to appear, in 80% of cases we will detect the disease at an early stage, which we will be able to cure with surgery, no chemotherapy, no radiotherapy,” explained Professor Revel.
“There is a lot of resistance among smokers to getting screened because they mistakenly believe that if cancer is found, it’s all over. Not at all; on the contrary,” she said.
Professor Revel is herself an ex-smoker, and was treated for lung cancer with surgery following very early detection. “I was able to undergo what is known as minimally invasive surgery. I can’t even see my scars and I lead a completely normal life.
“So, I can testify that it’s worth it,” she said.
The programme offers participants extra support to help them quit smoking.
If you fit the criteria and are interested, call 3433 (from within France) or find out more and sign up on the programme website.
