Is Lung Cancer Screening Right for Me?

Screening with low-dose CT (LDCT) scans can reduce deaths in those at high risk. The test is not recommended for everyone and it has risks as well as benefits.

 Even Without Symptoms, Lung Cancer Screening May Be a Lifesaver

You're a Baby Boomer with a history of smoking, and although you don't have any symptoms, you're afraid of the big C. Instead of just crossing your fingers, why not take the test that can give the early detection that just might save you?

 In the real world, harms of lung cancer screening prove greater than expected

While hospitals and advocacy groups eagerly promote lung cancer screening to the public, some researchers are shining a spotlight on data that shows the harms of lung cancer screening occur more often than anticipated.

 We trained an algorithm to detect cancer in just two hours

We showed our algorithms nearly 200,000 images of malignant, benign, and tumor-free CT scans, in both 2D and 3D. The way we measure how accurate the nodule detection algorithm is as it learns to find these tumors is the same as they would be implemented in a specialist’s office, with a metric called “recall.”

4 Things You Should Know About Lung Cancer Screening

“The toll lung cancer takes on our families, friends and neighbors is truly devastating,” said Emily Lee, the ALA’s Vice President of Mission Services. “With the availability of lung cancer screening, we have the opportunity to find the disease earlier and save lives. However, to make this lifesaving opportunity a reality, we must do more to raise awareness of both lung cancer and screening.”

CT Scam

If you have a lower risk of lung cancer, there’s less of a chance that screening will help you, as you can’t prevent something that wasn’t going to happen. But that doesn’t mean there’s less of a chance you’ll be harmed by the procedure. Taking a CT scan of the chest can uncover something that looks abnormal but ends up being nothing. Along the way there are more scans, biopsies and, sometimes, unnecessary surgeries.

For Lung Cancer Screening, a Small Dose of Hope

Now, after years of research and one of the largest cancer screening trials ever mounted, there is genuine hope for reducing the toll exacted by this disease. A national study involving 53,454 current and former smokers believed to be healthy showed that annual screening by low-dose computed tomography, or LDCT, could prevent three lung cancer deaths for every 1,000 people screened. Given the millions of people at risk, that could translate to a lot of lives saved.

Lung Cancer Screening with Low Dose CT

The announcement of the results of the NLST, showing a 20% reduction in lung-cancer specific mortality with LDCT screening in a high risk population, marked a turning point in lung cancer screening. This was the first time that a randomized controlled trial had shown a mortality reduction with an imaging modality aimed at early detection of lung cancer.

Lung Cancer: Saved By The Scan

“Saved By The Scan” focuses on empowering former smokers (who make up about half of the high-risk population) to find out if lung cancer screening is right for them. While quitting smoking and talking to their doctor about lung cancer screening may be more at the forefront of the minds of current smokers and their physicians, former smokers are often not counseled on lung cancer screening.

Study Confirms Chest X-Rays Ineffective for Detecting Lung Cancer

Early detection of cancer is often a key factor in successful treatment. When it comes to lung cancer, however, all screening methods are not created equal. In fact, getting an annual chest X-ray is no more likely to turn up evidence of lung cancer than normal visits to the physician. And chest X-rays are less likely to find early stage lung cancer than a low-dose helical computed tomography (LDCT) screening.