Diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer: summary of updated NICE guidance

Each year in the United Kingdom over 35 000 people die from lung cancer, 4000 more than from breast and bowel cancer combined,1 and survival remains lower than in other developed countries.2 Inequality exists in the UK in the delivery of treatment with curative intent3 as well as in delivery of active treatments generally. All healthcare professionals involved at any stage of the care pathway have important roles to play in tackling these inequalities. Thus the 2005 guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer was updated to advise healthcare professionals of important advances in management and to ensure patients have a supported, informed choice of the treatment that will help them most. This article summarises the recommendations from the updated NICE guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.4 NICE recommendations are based on systematic reviews of best available evidence and explicit consideration of cost effectiveness. When minimal evidence is available, recommendations are based on the Guideline Development Group’s experience and opinion of what constitutes good practice. Evidence levels for the recommendations are given in italic in square brackets. ### Early diagnosis and referral #### Referral (recommendations retained from 2005)