Lydia Becker Institute Director Professor Tracy Hussell has been awarded funding via the University of Manchester Innovation Factory’s Healthy Futures Ideas with Impact scheme to develop a home screening test-kit for the early detection of lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the largest cause of cancer-related death in the world. If diagnosed early, curative treatment is available, however, most cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage where treatment is limited. CT scans aid early diagnosis but are costly and would require a large NHS service expansion to deliver across the country and people ‘at risk’ of lung cancer are often in underserved communities, not likely to be engaged by a hospital-based screening programme.

Therefore, developing a non-invasive test for early lung cancer will reduce the number of CTs needed to achieve robust cancer screening.

A proteomic signature unique to patients with early lung cancer was detected as part of the Manchester Community Lung Health Study and has the potential to be transformed into a home test-kit for lung cancer screening, with eventual roll-out to homes by the NHS, GPs and private healthcare providers.

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