Seven provinces now screen high-risk patients, with three more and one territory planning programs
Lung cancer carried a projected $5.6bn in direct health system costs in Canada in 2024, or approximately $190,000 per patient over a lifetime.
The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer published the figure in its lung cancer screening progress report in November.
Societal costs, which the report defines as healthcare expenses, out-of-pocket costs, lost time, and other costs carried by patients and caregivers, reached $6.8bn in 2024 and are projected to rise 31 percent to $8.9bn by 2034.
Smoking accounts for 72 percent of lung cancer cases, per the report, and 11 percent of Canadians aged 18 and older currently smoked as of 2024.
Seven provinces now run organized lung cancer screening for people at high risk, with three additional provinces and one territory in the planning stages.
The Partnership has invested $11.5m since 2020, supporting jurisdictions to develop programs and clinical processes, engage communities, and strengthen smoking cessation supports for participants.
The organization puts the rollout at eight years, against decades for earlier cancer screening programs.
Craig Earle, CEO of the Toronto-based Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, said lung cancer has claimed more lives than any other type of cancer for decades.
Earle said the disease has disproportionately affected First Nations, Inuit, Métis, rural, remote, and other populations experiencing inequities, and that screening catches cancer earlier.
About 60 percent of lung cancers found through routine low-dose computed tomography screening are diagnosed at stage I and about 10 percent at stage IV, against roughly 70 percent of all lung cancers diagnosed at stage III or IV.
More than 60 percent of people diagnosed at stage I are alive five years later, compared with 3 percent of those diagnosed at stage IV, according to the report, which draws the five-year survival figures by stage from Statistics Canada health reporting.
Participation in a routine scan within six months of risk assessment ranges from 75 percent to 88 percent, though the Partnership cautioned that program parameters and measurement time frames differ across jurisdictions.
“Screening can help detect more lung cancers at an earlier, more treatable stage and connect people who are still smoking with smoking cessation support, but its benefits must be accessible to everyone,” said Stephen Lam, chair of the Pan-Canadian Lung Cancer Screening Network.
Quitting smoking improves a person’s chance of living beyond any cancer by 40 percent, can make treatment more effective, and reduces costs to the health system, the report states.
Cancer centres offering cessation interventions rose to 95 percent from 56 percent in 2017.
Among Canadians who smoke but are not eligible for screening, the Partnership identifies cessation as a prevention measure in its own right, citing federal tobacco and vaping surveillance data.
Modelling in the report assumes full implementation of screening with integrated cessation support across all provinces and territories from 2027 to 2046.
Recruitment is the main driver of impact, with higher participation cutting lung cancer deaths and raising life-years gained.
Cessation further reduces incidence and mortality and lowers the number of people who need to be screened.
Data gaps remain for some populations experiencing inequities, which the Partnership identifies as a condition of tracking participation and outcomes for those groups.
The work aligns with the 2026-2035 Pan-Canadian Lung Cancer Action Plan, led by the Canadian Cancer Society, which targets a 30 percent cut in lung cancer mortality by 2035.
