THE work of the Roy Castle Foundation has been as tireless as it has been relentless. It is the only British charity entirely dedicated to defeating lung cancer, and it has achieved some notable successes during its existence.

Now it may be on the brink of a major breakthrough in its dream to see the creation of a national lung cancer screening programme.

The charity is beginning a study to assess the practicality of a UK-based screening trial for the disease, recruiting people who are at a high risk of developing lung cancer to be assessed.

Screening nationally would save thousands of lives, and spare thousands of people the misery of seeing loved ones suffer, and perhaps die, of lung cancer.

The statistics speak for themselves: survival rates currently stand at 5% after five years, but these can jump to an impressive 80% in cases which are caught early enough. That is the kind of persuasive argument that lends such strength to the foundation’s argument. And it is the reason why founder and president Professor Ray Donnelly is right to feel so optimistic that its goal will eventually be achieved.

The results of the trial feasibility study will be used to decide whether a pilot study and subsequently a full clinical trial should be commissioned. If it does go ahead, the pilot and main trial would last approximately 10 years.

Nationally, the number of deaths due to lung cancer has fallen recently, which is generally thought to be due to fewer people smoking. But lung cancer kills more people in Liverpool than any other form of cancer in the city, accounting for 400 deaths every year – just under a third of all deaths in Liverpool

This study is an encouraging development. What it reveals could be life-saving.