A NATIONAL lung cancer screening trial is to begin on Merseyside.

The University of Liverpool is leading a screening pilot scheme that doctors hope could cut deaths caused by the disease significantly.

The screening is the dream of Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation founder, Professor Ray Donnelly, who has made it his mission for the last 20 years.

He said last night: “This is tremendous news and something I have dreamed of and campaigned for since I first set up the charity 20 years ago.

“It is a major step forward in the battle against lung cancer, and I hope it will benefit thousands of people.

“It would not have happened if it were not for the research in early diagnosis that the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation has been funding since 1993.”

Screening could be of significant benefit in Liverpool, which has some of the highest smoking related deaths in the county, at 348.4 per 100,000 people, compared to an English average of 206.8.

The pilot is in partnership with Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital in Broadgreen, Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, and the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust in London.

It has been funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA).

Patients at the participating hospitals will be offered the chance to take part in the pilot and receive a CT-Scan and be monitored for early signs of lung cancer.