By Denis Campbell
Publication Date: 2026-01-27 00:01:00
NHS England will trial a combination of AI and robotic care to speed up the detection and diagnosis of lung cancer, the deadliest form of the disease in the UK.
The study coincides with the health service’s commitment to offer all smokers and ex-smokers the opportunity to be screened for lung cancer by 2030.
This expansion will result in an estimated 50,000 lung cancers being diagnosed by 2035, including 23,000 in early stages, which could save thousands of lives, it said.
The disease is a particular focus of the government’s upcoming national cancer plan for England as it is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the UK and reflects historically high smoking rates. Across the UK, 33,100 people die every year, around 91 a day.
It is also an important area for improvement as it is a clear example of health inequalities that reflect people’s wealth. It affects poorer people so disproportionately that it accounts for an entire year of the nine-year life expectancy gap between…
