The first Italian Network for the screening of lung cancer

34 thousand. Are the people who every year receive the diagnosis of lung cancer stage is already advanced, approximately 80% of all new cases. And when the cancer is not removable with surgery, the chances of survival are reduced. For this reason, Italy is in the first line, within the european programme Horizon 2020, to set up the first Network of centres for the screening of lung cancer - a dozen to start with - and recruit in the next two years, 10 thousand heavy smokers between 55 and 75 years. Volunteers will be entered, free of charge, in a large european study (which will see the recruitment of 24 thousand persons in all, in Italy, Holland, Germany, England, France, Spain) with the purpose to define the methods best for screening pulmonary thanks to spiral Ct low-dose radiation. The national project, led by the National Cancer Institute of Milan (INT), was officially presented today at the headquarters of the Lombardy Region together with the Italian Society of General Medicine and Primary Care (SIMG), which will provide a decisive contribution. The screening will start before the summer but already in January it will be possible to apply, by registering on the website of the INT.
12 centers to kick off the Italian Network of Screening Lung, “The constitution of the Italian Network of Screening Lung (RESP) is the first step because the spiral CT, low-dose become a well-established practice on the whole territory, equal to that of mammography for the early diagnosis of cancer of the breast," emphasizes Ugo Pastorino, Director of Thoracic Surgery, IRCCS Foundation National Cancer Institute of Milan: "We have identified 12 centers to start the network, coordinated by the National Cancer Institute, Milan, that include IRCCS, hospitals and university institutes, characterized by high levels of efficiency in the field of oncology, for providing a service in the macro-territorial areas". For now, the cities identified are in Milan, Turin, Genoa, Padua, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Florence, Rome, Bari, Naples, Catanzaro and Catania: each centre will be equipped with the best technologies, will be made training for the staff and each tac will be read independently also by a second radiologist, so that the proceeding is unioforme. “Thanks to the Network, we want to initiate a controlled system, which does not involve additional payments to be borne by the national health service, already strained by the impact of the treatment of cancer", continues Weaver: “The 12 centers involved share the same rules in the execution of the screening and have a high level of experience in radiology, surgery, oncology, and in all the services for the treatment of pulmonary disease".