Queen’s University Belfast has been awarded almost €130,000 to lead a project aimed at establishing lung cancer screening programmes across Ireland.
The Lung Shot Project, led by Cancer Health Economist from Queen’s Dr Ethna McFerran, will bring leading experts and key stakeholders from the north and the Republic together, to create a collaborative approach to tackling one of the island’s most pressing public health challenges.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Northern Ireland, with 1,360 people diagnosed each year with the illness. Among patients diagnosed with lung cancer during 2013 to 2017, one-year survival after diagnosis was 38.2%, while five-year survival was 15.9%.
Almost one-in-two (44.6%) patients died within six months of diagnosis.
Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the Republic, accounting for 2,586 new cases per year between 2019 and 2021. The annual incidence was 1,386 in men and 1,199 in females.
Despite the growing evidence that early detection through screening can significantly reduce mortality, neither region has yet funded a formal lung cancer screening programme.
Dr McFerran said that the research will leverage the expertise and resources of both jurisdictions. By working together with both the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland and the Republic’s Health Service Executive (HSE), the aim is to ensure that the developed research evidence will show how to establish programmes for lung cancer screening which are “feasible, effective, and sustainable” across the island.
She said the project is “incredibly significant as it will enable us to link with patient advocacy groups and community partnerships to ensure that the screening programmes are tailored to local needs, while benefiting from international expertise and best practices”.
Dr McFerran added that the findings will provide insights into how lung cancer screening can be integrated into existing healthcare systems “with the potential to save lives by detecting cancer earlier, when treatment is more effective”.
The project, alongside two others led by Queen’s, has received investment of over €450k from the Health Research Board through its All-Ireland NCI Cancer Consortium, a pilot scheme designed to stimulate cross- border and transatlantic cancer research and innovation.
Mark Lawler, Professor of Digital Health at Queen’s, who is co-lead of the All-Island Cancer Research Institute and a co-investigator on Lung Shot said: “I am delighted with our success at Queen’s in being awarded three out of the five projects that were funded in this round of the programme …it emphasises our international leadership in cancer research.”
