Published on 10 March 2025
Artificial intelligence can significantly improve the efficiency of lung cancer screening, Liverpool research shows.
A study by researchers from the University of Liverpool and the Research Institute for Diagnostic Accuracy, Netherlands, has demonstrated that AI can accurately rule out negative low-dose CT (LDCT) scans, potentially reducing the workload of radiologists by up to 79%.
Lung cancer affects more than 48,000 people in the UK every year, and early detection is crucial for improving survival rates.
The UK Lung Cancer Screening (UKLS) trial, with findings published in the European Journal of Cancer, has already shown that LDCT screening can save lives by detecting lung cancer in high-risk individuals before symptoms appear.
CT scans are used in the NHS Lung Cancer Screening programme – previously known as Targeted Lung Health Checks – which have diagnosed more than 500 lung cancers in Cheshire and Merseyside over the past few years.