In this episode we talk to Dr Stephen Bradley who is a GP and clinical research fellow at the University of Leeds.Paper: Associations between general practice characteristics and chest X-ray rate: an observational studyhttps://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2021.0232Abnormal findings on chest X-rays that have been requested by GPs because of symptoms are an important route to lung cancer diagnosis. Previous research has suggested that increased rates of chest X-ray and urgent referral for suspected cancer may be associated with earlier stage at diagnosis for lung cancer. This study demonstrates that there is substantial variation in rates of investigation between practices, and that only a small proportion of that variation is owing to examined population and practice characteristics. Encouraging practices that have low chest X-ray rates to lower their thresholds for investigation could prove to be an effective strategy to detect lung cancer earlier and improve outcomes.Relevant referencesStudies by CanTest Leeds team on CXR discussed in the podcastSystematic Review on sensitivity CXR: https://bjgp.org/content/69/689/e827Observational study on sensitivity of CXR: https://bjgp.org/content/71/712/e862Estimating risk of lung cancer following negative CXR: https://bjgp.org/content/71/705/e280Observational study on frequency of CXR use and practice/population characteristics: https://bjgp.org/content/72/714/e34Remaining uncertainty regarding whether increasing GP CXR rates leads to improved outcomesLung cancer stage shift following a symptom awareness campaign (Kennedy) https://thorax.bmj.com/content/73/12/1128What characteristics of primary care and patients are associated with early death in patients with lung cancer in the UK? (O'Dowd )https://thorax.bmj.com/content/70/2/161Lung cancer screening and the place for ongoing sympatomatic detection alongside asymptomatic screeningThe proportion of lung cancer patients attending UK lung cancer clinics who would have been eligible for low-dose CT screening (Gracie) https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/54/2/1802221What is the balance of benefits and harms for lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography?  (Bradley) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0141076821991108Views expressed on the future of lung cancer imaging policy and research in the UKEvidence submitted to health & social care parliamentary select committee inquiry on cancer services (Bradley) https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/38850/pdf/