Good afternoon, Mr. Chairperson and members of the health committee.

I'm Dr. Stephen Lam from the BC Cancer Agency. Thank you for the opportunity to present to you the current status of lung cancer screening in Canada.

As Dr. Natasha Leighl pointed out earlier, lung cancer screening using low-dose CT scans can reduce lung cancer mortality, reducing the proportion of people dying of lung cancer, by 20%. These are heavy former or current smokers between the ages of 55 and 74. It should be noted that more than 50% of the lung cancer patients we see now are former smokers. These are the people who have listened to our advice, have stopped smoking already for a number of years, and yet have come down with lung cancer. Lung cancer screening will offer the opportunity to reduce the mortality. As Dr. Leighl also pointed out, even in the United States lung cancer screening is cost-effective. On average, the cost is $81,000 per quality-adjusted life years gained in the U.S. In Canada it can be cheaper.

The next thing is that not only can we reduce lung cancer mortality by screening, but screening also shifts the proportion of people from advanced cancer to early cancer, what we call stage I and stage II lung cancer, which can be amenable to treatment with surgery with curative intent. Without lung cancer screening, three-quarters of the patients with lung cancer present with advanced disease and are mainly suited for palliative treatment. But with lung cancer screening, with low-dose CT, we can shift the proportion to the opposite direction so that three-quarters of people have the early stages of the disease, stages I and II, amenable to curative surgery.

A study we conducted in Canada, a screening study from coast to coast, from Vancouver to St. John's, Newfoundland, was supported by the Terry Fox Research Institute, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, and Lung Cancer Canada. In this study, we found that if we treat people who have screen-detected stage I and stage II lung cancer, we can actually save $14,000 over two years versus treatment of advanced cancer, stage III and stage IV, by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or both.

Now, not only can we reduce lung cancer mortality, but we can also save money by reducing the symptom burden. A study in Ontario showed that people who presented with clinical lung cancer have moderate to severe symptoms of loss of appetite, shortness of breath, lack of well-being, and fatigue in over half of the patients. Another third have significant pain, anxiety, or drowsiness, and one-quarter will have depression. If we can find the cancer early, we can reduce the symptom burden.

Another thing is that patients with clinically diagnosed lung cancer utilize hospital resources at a very high rate. Within three months prior to diagnosis, about 40% of them show up at the hospital emergency department. Within three months before their death, three-quarters actually showed up at hospital emergency because of symptoms. Again, we can reduce the proportion of people who utilize hospital resources.

There are four Canadian innovations that would put us onto the world leadership map in terms of lung cancer screening. We have a very innovative electronic web-based lung cancer prediction tool that allows us to identify who would benefit from lung cancer screening. For the ones who come to the screening program, we have a calculator that allows us to determine which spots or nodules on the CT scan need attention, through repeat imaging or biopsies, and to determine how often we should do follow-up CT scans. We have developed a very innovative surgical tool that allows the surgeon to remove small parts of the lung quickly and precisely to treat early cancer. The fourth innovation is a genomic signature that allows us to tell which cancer is aggressive and may benefit from additional chemotherapy after surgery.

Another innovation is computer technology that allows us to automatically highlight abnormal spots and help radiologists make recommendations regarding the management of spots detected on CT scans.

In summary, lung cancer screening allows us to shift from palliative treatment to curative treatment. We can reduce the symptom burden associated with advanced lung cancer diagnosed without screening. We can also transform lung cancer care.

The federal government can help us to improve lung cancer care and improve the outcome of lung cancer patients by funding low-dose CT screening programs—for example, for federal employees like veterans and the RCMP. For those who live in more remote areas, such as our first nations people who live in sparsely populated areas, we can use mobile CT, or combine smoking cessation with lung cancer screening, depending on the age group of the population.

Finally, the federal government can help us by facilitating implementation of screening at the provincial level—for example, through the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. We now have a Canadian lung cancer screening network that is supported by CPAC and funded by the federal government.

I think I will stop there to answer any questions you may have.

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