Standards of care of patients with lung cancer vary substantially across the United Kingdom, the National Lung Cancer Audit has shown.

The latest figures show that standards of care are largely similar to those seen last year, albeit with small rises in the proportion of patients having surgery and anticancer treatment.1 2 However, there remains marked variation across trusts, health boards, and networks that cannot solely be explained by differences in case mix.

The eighth national audit analysed data on 38 528 UK patients with lung cancer first seen in 2011. They represent about 93% of new cases of lung cancer. The audit was managed by the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre in partnership with …