Tbilisi City Hall to fund free lung cancer screening programme from May

Tbilisi City Hall will begin funding free lung cancer screening for eligible residents from 1 May, Mayor Kakha Kaladze has announced.

Speaking at a municipal government meeting, Kaladze said the programme will be available to people aged between 45 and 75 who are registered in the capital and are either current tobacco users or have quit smoking within the past 15 years.

The initiative will be delivered under the city’s broader disease screening programme and funded by the municipal health and social services department. Officials said the scheme is aimed at early detection among high-risk groups.

Kaladze said the eligibility criteria and programme design were developed in consultation with leading specialists in oncology, radiology and pulmonology. Participating clinics have also been selected based on their technical capacity and professional expertise.

As part of the screening, patients will undergo low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans. Each scan will be independently reviewed by two radiologists, with a third specialist involved in cases where assessments differ.

At the initial stage, 16 medical institutions across different parts of the city will take part in the programme.

Kaladze noted that lung cancer remains the leading cause of death among oncological diseases worldwide. He said early detection through screening can significantly improve outcomes, increasing survival rates by up to 70% among high-risk individuals.