Study shows effective method of lung cancer screening

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"Of course, stopping smoking is by far the best way to prevent lung cancer. However, the potential to detect it early through LDCT opens up new possibilities for reducing the suffering and death from this terrible disease," said Tim Byers, MD, MPH, associate director for cancer prevention and control at the University of Colorado Cancer Centre and chair of the Colorado LDCT Lung Cancer Screening Consensus. "However, as with other screening tests, it is important that we carefully consider both the benefits and the risks of screening."

After national studies are published, it can take more than a year for national organisations to develop clinical guidelines about who should be screened, what method should be used, and how any abnormalities should be followed-up. While the public waits for national guidelines, a diverse group of Colorado experts are developing interim consensus information on the appropriate use of LDCT for lung cancer screening.

'Work of our group will be critically important in helping clinicians interpret National Lung Screening Trial results'

HealthTeamWorks, a non-profit organisation working to improve the quality and delivery of health care in Colorado, is bringing together radiologists from the University of Colorado Cancer Centre, who took part in the National Lung Screening Trial, as well as, pulmonologists, lung cancer oncologists, preventive medicine specialists, primary care physicians, health plan representatives and patient advocates from across the state.

In August, the group will present advice regarding the following questions: which people may benefit from LDCT screening, what is an appropriate screening protocol, how should any abnormalities be followed up, how can any adverse effects be minimised and how can practitioners and the general public be fully informed about both the benefits and risks of screening?

"The work of our group will be critically important in helping clinicians interpret National Lung Screening Trial results as we wait for national guidelines to be developed," said Byers. "Through this information, we hope to optimise the benefits and minimise the risks of this new type of screening."

The National Lung Cancer Screening Trial, a randomised national trial involving more than 53 000 current and former heavy smokers aged 55 to 74, compared the effects of two screening procedures for lung cancer - low-dose computerised tomography and standard chest X-ray. Smokers who had smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day for at least 30 years or former smokers who had stopped smoking no more than 15 years prior were included in the study.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and accounts for one in every three cancer deaths.

Source: University of Colorado