The European Society of Radiology (ESR) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS) have launched the European Lung Cancer Screening Alliance (ELCSA) at this week’s European Cancer Screening and Early Detection Policy Summit held in Brussels.
The summit was created by the three EU-cofunded projects PRAISE-U, SOLACE, and TOGAS, which have piloted national screening programs for prostate, lung, and gastric cancers, respectively.
According to the ESR and the ERS, the ELCSA will bring together clinical societies, researchers, patient representatives, and policymakers with the common goal of improving early lung cancer detection.
The ELCSA initiative’s mission is to advance lung cancer screening in the EU through advocacy and policy engagement, as well as build on the efforts of the SOLACE project “Strengthening the Screening of Lung Cancer in Europe,” which will end in March.
The ELCSA aims to promote collaboration across disciplines, including radiology, pulmonology, oncology, surgery, and public health, with an emphasis on education and awareness in sharing best practices and implementation strategies.
This alliance will also support research on improving risk selection, imaging pathways, and screening quality, the ESR, and the ERS added.
The partners added that the ELCSA stakeholder forum “will ensure an inclusive approach and allow broad engagement and exchange to achieve ELCSA’s ultimate goal to reduce lung cancer mortality and improve outcomes for high-risk populations across Europe.”
For updates on and opportunities for engagement with the ELCSA, the initiative suggests following SOLACE on LinkedIn @SOLACE-project.
