EarlyCDT Lung is the one of the world’s most thoroughly validated blood test for the detection of lung cancer.

It detects lung cancer on average four years, and up to nine years, before standard clinical diagnosis.

It is a simple blood test that detects 7 circulating autoantibodies, which are generated by the body’s immune system as a defence against lung cancer at the earliest stages of the disease.

• Simple at home sample collection
• No GP referral
• Results within 14 working days

Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate and one of the worst five-year survival rates of all cancers. It is especially deadly because symptoms are non-specific and patients often only seek medical attention when tumours have exceeded a critical size, or when cancer cells have attacked the lymph nodes or have metastasized. However, if lung cancer is detected early before it causes symptoms, the chances for curative treatment to work are good – the average five-year survival rate for the earliest stage of the disease can be as high as 90%. 

The NHS have implemented some screening using CT scanners to detect nodules in the lungs, which are then biopsied to see if nodule is malignant. However, there are limited resources for UK-wide screening, and CT scans are not determinate – if a nodule is within 4-20mm it’s called an Indeterminate Pulmonary Nodule (IPN), which is too small to justify biopsy. Patients with IPNs are put on a watchful waiting list and will have regular CT scans, but by the time the nodule has grown large enough to be biopsied, it can be too late for curative treatment.

EarlyCDT has two uses:

• Screening for lung cancer
• Assessment of IPNs to triage for biopsy

EarlyCDT tells you whether your level of each antibody tested is low (no significant level), moderate or high. It then gives an overall result for all antibodies of Low, Moderate or High. This result is then used alongside your pre-test risk score from a published risk-score model to calculate your new Post-Test Risk of lung cancer.

EarlyCDT has a 99.3% Negative Predictive Value, meaning lung cancer is correctly ruled out 99.3% of the time.

WHO IS EARLYCDT RECOMMENDED FOR?

• People who are over the age of 50 with the equivalent of a 20-pack year smoking history (the equivalent of smoking a 20-pack of cigarettes per day for one year)
• People who are aged between 45-49 who are at increased risk of lung cancer e.g., smoker/ex-smoker, exposure to secondhand smoke, radiation therapy, exposure to radon gas, exposure to asbestos and other carcinogens, family history of lung cancer