Lung cancer: Mobile screening programme to be trialled in Rotorua, Taupō, Hawke’s Bay
A terminal cancer patient hopes a new lung cancer screening trial set to begin in the Lakes and Hawke’s Bay districts next year will evolve into a national programme.
Health Minister Simeon Brown announced on Tuesday that the Government would trial a mobile lung cancer screening programme from mid-2027.
Brown said the four-year trial would begin in the Lakes district – which covers Rotorua and Taupō – and Hawke’s Bay.
These districts were selected because they had high rates of lung cancer, lower survival rates and large rural populations, Health New Zealand said.
Lung cancer was New Zealand’s leading cause of cancer death and was often diagnosed at a late stage, when treatment was less likely to be successful.
Screening could help find lung cancer earlier, when treatment may be more effective.
The pilot programme would use low-dose CT scans to identify lung cancer in people assessed as being at higher risk.
Health NZ would take a mobile CT scanner into these communities – a model similar to the mobile units already used for breast screening.
An estimated 8000 screenings would take place during the trial period, expected to save about 50 to 60 lives each year.
Screening would be free for eligible patients, with eligibility criteria to be confirmed closer to the start of screening.
Robyn Cameron, who lives at Ōkere Falls near Rotorua, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2022.
She had never been a smoker and had no symptoms, only seeing the doctor after experiencing issues with her breasts.
A CT scan revealed she had lung cancer.
She has been taking the “life-extending” drug Tagrix since 2022, which has so far been successful.
Cameron said any lung cancer screening trial “absolutely has to be worthwhile”.
“If they can get a full screening programme going as a result of this trial, that would be absolutely fantastic.”
Cameron said she supported a national screening programme, particularly given the mortality rate of lung cancer.
She did not think it should be limited to those who had smoked.
“Everybody should have the same chance.”
In a Tuesday statement, Cardiac and Respiratory Foundation New Zealand chief executive Letitia Harding said the trial marked the first “real step” toward the national programme the foundation had been advocating for.
It had previously called on the Government to commit to funding a targeted national screening programme through Budget 2027, with priority access for New Zealanders aged 50 to 74 who had ever smoked.
“Too many New Zealanders are dying from lung cancer each year, and it’s about time we started the process of implementing a nationwide programme to catch lung cancer early,” Harding said.
The foundation said Health NZ’s proposed programme suggested a nationwide lung cancer screening programme could save 25 lives a week.
About 1800 people died from lung cancer every year in New Zealand – more than breast, prostate and melanoma cancer combined, the foundation said.
Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.