PRiCAN Team

The PRiCAN team at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is addressing a challenge facing health systems across Europe: how do we ensure lung cancer screening programmes reach those who need them most? Through EUCanScreen, we are synthesising international evidence to support stronger implementation across Member States.

What Works in Practice

Our work focuses on a straightforward question: what works to increase participation in lung cancer screening, particularly among underserved populations? Our umbrella review examines 24 studies from eight countries, covering interventions tested in diverse healthcare systems from opportunistic screening in primary care to organised population programmes. The evidence base, whilst growing, reveals consistent patterns.

Patient navigation demonstrates the strongest effect. Studies show that trained navigators, whether community health workers, nurses, or peer supporters, can increase screening uptake by 10-30 percentage points (depending on baseline uptake) (Yang et al., 2025). The mechanism appears straightforward: navigators address practical barriers (transport, appointment scheduling, language), answer questions, and provide continuity through the screening pathway.

Multi-component interventions also show promise, though with greater variability. Combining personalised invitation letters, educational materials tailored to literacy levels, and decision aids improves uptake compared to standard invitations alone. Shared decision-making tools, particularly those incorporating lung cancer risk calculators, support informed choice. While some studies have shown the use of shared decision- making aids to increase lung cancer screening uptake, effectiveness depends heavily on how they’re integrated into consultations.

Contributing to European Knowledge

Our findings feed into EUCanScreen’s work package examining cancer screening implementation barriers across Member States. We are working with partners in Latvia, Finland, the Netherlands, Croatia, and Hungary to understand which recruitment interventions work best in lung cancer screening eligible populations and the sub cohorts within this group.

Next Steps

This work directly supports PRiCAN’s broader mission to strengthen primary care cancer research across Ireland and Europe. Our EUCanScreen findings will inform not just lung cancer screening but broader efforts to reduce inequalities in early detection across cancer types.

Citation

Yang Y, Zhao W, Chan DNS, Zhou S, Choi KC, So WKW. Interventions targeted to improve lung cancer screening uptake among high-risk individuals: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Asia-Pac J Oncol Nurs. 2025 Dec;12:100746.