UK charity slams high rates of late diagnoses of lung cancer

UK cancer charity Macmillan Cancer Relief (MCR) has greeted the latest national mortality statistics with calls for the earlier diagnosis of lung cancer. 80% of lung cancer cases are inoperable due to their late diagnosis, according to the charity. "If people were diagnosed at a much earlier stage, it would be possible for many more of them to have an operation that could potentially cure their cancer," said MCR chief executive Peter Cardy. Cancer of the trachea, bronchus and lung was the third leading cause of death in males (7.5%), and sixth in females (4.5%), in England and Wales in 2005, according to the Office of National Statistics.