This is one more step towards the establishment of organized screening for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer mortality in France according to the Inca (National Cancer Institute), with 30,000 deaths each year.
The first volunteers should be included in this research project that will combine a low-dose chest scan with a smoking cessation approach. Everything must start at the beginning of the second half of 2025, Professor Norbert Ifrah, president of the Institute, explains to BFMTV.
“Today there is no organized screening for lung cancer,” explains the latter. But “after studies that demonstrated its interest, we decided to launch a research program that allows us to answer some questions that remain unanswered and then allow the generalization of organized screening in the territory.”
The High Health Authority had recommended, at the beginning of 2022, “real-life testing for the detection of lung cancer.” And this because he considered that “the analysis of the new available data shows that low-dose scanner screening in people highly exposed to tobacco leads to a reduction in specific mortality”, while indicating the need for additional information through a pilot program. Therefore, this program must make it possible to provide answers to the HAS before a possible large-scale deployment.
According to Inca, “the objective of screening is to allow the early detection of cancers, before symptoms appear, so that the treatment or intervention can be effective.”
“Interest in screening is important for public health,” given that lung cancer is the deadliest in France, with more than 30,000 deaths each year, Professor Ifrah stressed, adding that “this year, we expect deaths from lung cancer exceed deaths from breast cancer among women. .
Most cases are detected at an advanced stage of the disease, which reduces the chances of treatment and cure. Tobacco remains the main risk factor.
20,000 smokers or ex-smokers
The pilot project, called Impulsion, chosen after examination by an international evaluation committee and a call for applications, is carried out by a consortium coordinated by Professor Marie-Pierre Revel (Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris) and by Professor Sébastien Couraud (Hospices Civils de Lyon). It should be launched first in Île-de-France and Lyon, before rolling out to other regions.
The study plans to include 20,000 participants. The pilot project is aimed at “people aged 50 to 74, smokers and ex-smokers who have been weaned less than 15 years ago with an accumulated tobacco consumption of at least 20 packs/year,” details the Inca, that is, the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes a day during this period or two packs of cigarettes a day for 10 years or even “a little less cigarettes but for longer”, adds Norbert Ifrah.
Participants will be offered a low-dose chest CT scan: two scans one year apart and then one scan every two years. Follow-up covered by Health Insurance explains Inca.
“It is the equivalent of the scanner we know but with infinitely lower irradiation doses and a much shorter examination time,” comments the president of the Institute.
The inclusion of participants will be considered through various methods, certain health professionals, certain Health Insurance centers, or even through a digital platform, or by telephone, reads Inca’s press release.
Inca will finance the organization with 6 million euros. In France, three cancers (breast, colorectal and cervical) are the subject of organized screening that is systematically offered to a target population.
According to the Inca oncological panorama, the most common cancers among men continue to be prostate (59,885 cases), lung (33,438 cases) and colon-rectum (26,212 cases). In women, those of the breast (61,214 cases), colorectal (21,370 cases) and lung (19,339 cases).
Source: BFM TV
