Digital screening for lung cancer

This service is part of the NHS screening services.

The NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme aims to reduce deaths from lung cancer by finding cancers earlier, when treatment is more likely to be successful. Eligible people are invited to complete a lung health check. Those assessed as being at higher risk may be offered a low-dose CT scan. 

To support the national rollout of lung cancer screening, NHS England is testing a digital assessment service that allows people to complete their screening assessment online rather than by telephone. 

This service helps to:

• make screening more accessible
• give people greater flexibility in how they complete their assessment
• support higher participation in lung cancer screening
• help identify cancer earlier
• reduce pressure on NHS resources
• collect accurate information needed to assess lung cancer risk

This service is not a:

• diagnostic or treatment service
• replacement for CT scans or telephone assessments
• standalone lung cancer screening programme service

1. Eligible people are invited to take part in lung cancer screening.
2. Participants complete a lung health check assessment.
3. Information from the assessment is used to calculate an individual's risk of developing lung cancer.
4. People who meet the risk threshold may be offered a low-dose CT scan.

The current assessment is completed by telephone. NHS England is testing an online assessment to understand whether people can successfully complete the process digitally while maintaining the quality of information collected.

This service is for people who are:

• aged 55 to 74
• current or former smokers
• registered with a GP surgery in an area where lung health checks are offered

NHS England is currently testing and evaluating an online assessment for lung cancer screening as part of a pilot programme with:

• RM Partners
• North West and South West London Cancer Alliance
• InHealth Group

The pilot is testing whether participants can complete an online assessment questionnaire and provide accurate smoking history information without additional support. The pilot aims to involve 750 participants, who will complete both the online questionnaire and the existing telephone assessment so the results can be compared.

The service is not yet available nationally.

The pilot will help NHS England determine whether a national online assessment service should be developed and rolled out more widely. The findings will be used to inform future service design and implementation.

If adopted nationally, the online assessment is expected to run alongside the existing telephone assessment and be introduced gradually across England.

If you are a Cancer Alliance and would like to be involved in future rollout and testing activities, contact the team.