Hundreds more people in Wakefield to benefit from life-saving abdomen scans following new funding

The scans, which can help detect kidney, stomach, colon, liver, pancreatic and bowel cancers, will be provided alongside lung health checks, which are being rolled out across the region as part of a new National Lung Screening Programme.

Previous research funded by the charity has demonstrated that kidney and lung screening can be combined to save lives.

Now, experts at the University of Cambridge will work in partnership with the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance and the Humber and North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance to find the most effective way to invite people for abdomen scans and speed up the screening process.

The new clinical trial will work towards addressing disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of kidney cancer in Wakefield, and throughout Yorkshire, which particularly affect people from disadvantaged communities.

Stuart Griffiths, Director of Research at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said: “Screening people before they experience any symptoms means cancer can be found at a very early stage, crucially giving them access to more life-saving treatment options and treatment that’s easier to recover from.

“Kidney cancer does not have any form of screening programme yet, and that particularly impacts Yorkshire, where people are diagnosed with kidney cancer at a disproportionately higher rate than the national average.

"Providing abdomen scans can save lives by finding kidney cancer and other cancers too”.

More than 900 people aged 55 to 74 from across Yorkshire, who are at high risk of abdomen cancers and lung cancer, will have the combined screening through the new study.

The research team plans to demonstrate that a national-scale study is achievable, with the ultimate aim of introducing the option of an abdomen scan to all lung health checks across the UK.

Jason Pawluk, Managing Director of West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance, said: “Building the case for targeted screening initiatives is vital to our ambitions to take local action to diagnose more cancers earlier, tackle health inequalities and improve patient experience.

"Effective screening ultimately improves clinical outcomes”.