In France, the prospect of organized lung cancer screening will probably not materialize for 5 to 10 years. In Australia, on the other hand, while a study published in December assesses the cost-effectiveness of different screening strategies, the authorities announced the launch of a national screening program from July.
According to the study published in The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacifica screening program using a low-dose scanner would be cost-effective in the Australian context if it is carried out every two years among smokers or former smokers with heavy smoking (smoking cessation over the last 10 years and consumption of at least least one pack of cigarettes per day for 30 years), aged 50 to 70.
To achieve this result, researchers at Flinders University relied on a modeling tool developed in the Netherlands, MIcrosimulation SCreening ANalysis (Miscan-Lung). Using Australian data on smoking behavior, lung cancer epidemiology and lung cancer diagnosis and treatment costs, the tool simulated different screening scenarios to determine the most cost-effective of them . While lung cancer is too often diagnosed late, when treatment options are limited, the simulation took into account the benefits of early detection as well as the increasing adoption of new therapies, including immunotherapies and targeted therapies. .
A profitable investment
It appears that screening high-risk patients every two years would prevent 62 lung cancer deaths per 100,000 people screened and add on average 8.4 additional years of healthy life for each death. by lung cancer avoided. “For every A$60,000 spent on screening, a person would gain an extra year of good health”says Jackie Roseleur, health economist at the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University and first author.
“This study represents an important step in ensuring that public health strategies are both effective and economically viable”adds his colleague Jonathan Karnon from Flinders University, one of the co-authors. The recommendation from this study has already been approved by the Australian Minister for Health and Aged Care who announced a launch in July 2025.
In France, the question of organized lung cancer screening has been on the table for several years. Internationally, the American NLST study and the Belgian-Dutch Nelson study have already demonstrated the benefit of screening targeting smokers or former smokers aged 50 to 74. Several experiments were also carried out in France and confirmed its results.
In 2022, the High Authority for Health (HAS) recommended the launch of a call for tenders for an organized pilot screening program. This was published last July by the National Cancer Institute (Inca) and should make it possible to clarify certain modalities, before generalization within 5 to 10 years.
