SUMMIT, the largest ever UK lung cancer screening study, has begun seeing participants at University College Hospital, Mile End, Finchley Memorial, and King George Hospitals. Teams at the four sites are screening people, identified by their GPs, who meet eligibility requirements. The study aims to recruit approximately 50,000 men and women aged 50-77 in total across north and east London. Around 1,000 people have been seen so far.
In Tower Hamlets there are 18 GP practices participating in the study at present.
Sam Janes, professor of respiratory medicine at UCL/UCLH and Chief Investigator of the SUMMIT Study, said: "We are pleased that screening is underway and we're grateful for the cooperation of local GPs who are supporting this important research programme."
"A study of this size provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change how lung cancer is diagnosed. It could lead to a national screening programme in the UK and play a vital part in the global efforts to develop a blood test for diagnosing cancers."
SUMMIT is being conducted by UCLH in close collaboration with UCL, the National Institute for Health Research UCLH Biomedical Research Centre and GRAIL, Inc. (a US healthcare company focused on the early detection of cancer).
The research has attracted national interest, read about the study in the Evening Standard.
