The quality of lung cancer treatment in the United Kingdom varies between different hospitals and lags behind that in other western European countries, according to an audit published this week.

The third National Lung Cancer Audit, published by the NHS Information Centre and the Royal College of Physicians, shows an overall improvement in the quality of care being given by hospitals in the UK compared with previous years (figure⇓). But it finds that some hospitals are failing to offer acceptable standards of practice in key aspects of care, including diagnosis and treatment.

Tim Straughan, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, said, “While there have been overall improvements in care since the previous audit in 2006, there’s still a wide …