Saving Lives Using Low-dose CT Screening for Lung Cancer

Shown to significantly reduce mortality rates among people at high risk of developing the disease is screening for lung cancer with low-dose CT scans.

Shown to significantly reduce mortality rates among people at high risk of developing the disease, such as current or former longtime smokers is screening for lung cancer with low-dose CT scans.

In conjunction with National Lung Cancer Awareness Month, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) wants to raise awareness about the importance of prevention and early detection for at-risk populations.

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A majority of patients diagnosed with lung cancer already have incurable disease at the time of diagnosis. The large number of patients with advanced lung cancer is the reason it is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States - more than breast, colon and prostate cancer combined.

However, by participating in screening that can detect cancer in its earliest stages, lung cancer mortality can be lowered by as much as 20 percent, according to results from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) that were published in June 2011.

"Low-dose computed tomography screening for patients at high risk of lung cancer saves lives. It is recommended by more than a dozen medical societies and patient advocacy groups including the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association," said David Madtes, M.D., director of SCCA's Lung Cancer Early Detection and Prevention Clinic and director of the low-dose CT screening program.

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While lung cancer screening is not currently a routine part of preventive medical care like mammography for breast cancer screening or the PSA blood test to screen for prostate cancer, the results of the NLST trial are changing clinical practice. Lung cancer experts now support lung cancer screening to provide the opportunity to detect cancers at an earlier, treatable and curable stage.

Douglas Wood, M.D., professor and chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Washington and a member of the multidisciplinary team that treats lung cancer patients at SCCA, chairs the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Lung Cancer Screening Panel which supports creating policies that allow more patients access to screenings. Wood led the NCCN group that published the initial set of guidelines in November 2011 and the guidelines revision process this summer, which aims to make screening available with the support of insurance and Medicare.

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Source-ANI