Lung cancer mortality can be cut by at least one-quarter with regular screening of smokers after the age of 50, according to findings from a European study with a decade-long follow-up.

The Dutch–Belgian NELSON trial randomised smokers and ex-smokers aged 50-74 to undergo low-dose CT scans at one- to three-year intervals and compared their outcomes with non-screened controls.

The trial’s “extraordinarily important” findings coincided with a federal government-commissioned taskforce that was trying to design a cost-effective national screening program, Lung Foundation Australia chair Professor Christine Jenkins said. 

“Early results for the NELSON trial were presented more than a year ago at the World Conference on Lung Cancer, and everyone has been awaiting the full paper since because of its significance,” she said.