Lung Cancer Awareness Month: Screening Becomes Long-Term Healthcare Infrastructure

As Lung Cancer Awareness Month unfolds, global attention shifts to screening initiatives. Countries grapple with practical aspects, including reaching those eligible for screening, managing increasing image volumes, and ensuring follow-up care. England is broadening its national screening program, incorporating AI diagnostic imaging into public hospitals. NHS England's figures from May indicate the program identified 10,678 lung cancers, with over three-quarters at early stages I or II.

Coreline Soft has secured an AI contract with the Eastern Diagnostic Imaging Network (EDIN), working alongside BT and deepc. The agreement supplies AVIEW to 12 hospitals across EDIN 1 and 2, encompassing lung cancer screening and routine CT examinations. While NHS England's data captures national screening outcomes, the EDIN contract establishes a pathway into everyday hospital imaging processes.

Australia's experience underscores the challenges of expanding participation. Following the program's launch in July 2025, nearly 100,000 high-risk individuals received free screening, leading to over 230 primary lung cancers detected. Approximately 285 people joined the program daily. The government's approach integrates clinician education, public awareness campaigns, and a national register, complemented by mobile screening in rural and Indigenous communities.

Germany introduced statutory health insurance coverage for LDCT lung cancer screening in April 2026, targeting high-risk smokers aged 50–75. Eligible individuals can undergo screenings annually, with the framework incorporating computer-aided detection (CAD), quality assurance, and specialist interpretation as needed. German health authorities acknowledge that nationwide capacity development will require time, with insurance coverage setting the market stage and actual examination volumes reliant on operational services.

France is piloting a national program, with the French National Cancer Institute (INCa) launching the IMPULSION project in May. The initiative aims to recruit 20,000 participants across five regions over 18–24 months, focusing on diverse invitation methods and outreach to underserved and socially isolated groups. Italy's Lung Cancer Screening Network, RISP, has provided LDCT-based early detection and smoking cessation services to more than 10,000 high-risk participants across 18 centers in 15 regions.

In September, the State-Regions Conference allocated additional funding, totaling €600,000 for 2027.

These countries are developing screening as a sustained service, with individuals at normal or low risk returning for regular follow-up scans, while those with nodules may require earlier assessments. Medical AI plays an expanding role in managing this workload, ensuring accurate detection, consistent processing, and interpretation support across institutions. EU initiatives are also exploring AI's role in augmenting screening expansion following the bloc's revised cancer screening recommendation in 2022.

Coreline Soft's activities in Europe and Australia exemplify these evolving demands. Leveraging its experience with South Korea's national screening program, the company is involved in Germany's insurance-funded market, France's IMPULSION, Italy's RISP, and Australia's national program. In Germany, the company has expanded its institutional base to around 100 medical institutions by October, focusing on metrics such as contracts, installation, activation, examination volumes, and repeat use.

While signing contracts precedes actual screening activity, recurring software revenue increased by 67% year over year in the first half of 2026, while examination-based pay-per-use revenue surged by 146%. Recurring revenue's share of software revenue rose from 42% to 60%.

The next challenge will be whether newly installed institutions become active users, generating sustained examination volumes. Contract growth and recurring revenue ratios alone do not confirm the extent to which software is being utilized. England's early detection outcomes, Australia's participation-building efforts, Germany's insurance-funded screening, France's recruitment strategies, and Italy's multicenter delivery and quality assurance represent a growing infrastructure for long-term healthcare.