Lung Cancer Screening: What you know can save your life
Posted on
The President’s Cancer Panel recommends lung cancer screening as the single most effective way to reduce mortality from the disease and improve health equity and access.
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 238,340 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2023, 2,750 of which will be in Connecticut.
Lung cancer is also the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., accounting for about 20% of all cancer deaths. The American Cancer Society estimates that 127,070 people will die of lung cancer this year (1,320 in Connecticut), which is more than colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined.
The good news is that the number of deaths from lung cancer has been trending downward for men since 1990 and since 2002 for women. One reason for this positive development is the availability of effective screening.
Lung cancer screenings are now conducted using low-dose CT (LDCT) scans for people at high risk for lung cancer, such as heavy smokers. LDCT was first implemented during the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), a U.S. clinical trial that began in 2002 and involved over 50,000 participants. The trial was designed to determine the effectiveness of LDCT screening for the early detection of lung cancer.
The results of the NLST, published in 2011, showed that LDCT screening could reduce lung cancer mortality by detecting cancers at an earlier, more treatable stage. This led to increased interest in using LDCT scans for lung cancer screening, and it became more widely adopted in the medical community as a recommended screening method for individuals at high risk for lung cancer.
“Screening is one of the best tools we have in the fight against cancer,” says Leever Radiation Oncologist Dr. Joseph Ravalese, III. “Screening is not available for all types of cancer, but we are fortunate to be able to screen for lung cancer, which is one of the most prevalent and deadly types. Early detection is important because lung cancer is easier to treat in the early stages, and patients diagnosed early generally have much better outcomes.”
“Screening is one of the best tools we have in the fight against cancer.”
—Joseph Ravalese, III, MD, Radiation Oncologist, The Harold Leever Regional Cancer Center
According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for lung cancer that has spread to other parts of the body is just 7%, while for lung cancer that has not yet spread, the five-year survival rate is 61%.
Despite the success of lung cancer screening in identifying lung cancer in its early stages and saving the lives of lung cancer patients, in the 10 years since the United States Preventive Services Taskforce first recommended low-dose CT for lung cancer screening, fewer than one in 10 eligible individuals have undergone CT screening — far fewer than have undergone other established cancer screenings, such as mammography and colonoscopy.
Access to and utilization of lung cancer screening (LCS) has been particularly challenging for rural and racial/ethnic minority groups, who are more likely to live farther away from a designated LCS center, be underinsured, and have lower health literacy levels.
The cost of lung cancer screening is covered for patients meeting specific criteria: between the ages of 50 and 80, currently a smoker or have quit smoking within the past 15 years, have smoked 20 or more pack years (one pack per day for 20 years), and have no signs or symptoms of lung cancer.
For those who do not meet the criteria or are not covered by Medicare or private insurance, a low-dose CT scan runs less than $300 out-of-pocket. If you think you should be screened, contact your primary care physician, who can refer you to a local organization for screening.
While November 11 is the official National Lung Cancer Screening Day, low-dose CT lung cancer screening is offered throughout the year for those who need it.