New Study Shows Lung Cancer Surveillance in the United States Misses Most Patients; Northwestern Medicine Investigators Urge Universal Age-based Screening - News Center

"In a new study of nearly 1,000 consecutive patients treated for lung cancer at Northwestern Medicine, investigators discovered only 35 percent would have qualified for screening according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) screening criteria. The two-thirds of patients who would have been excluded were disproportionately women and never-smokers. Currently, USPSTF recommends annual lung cancer screenings for adults ages 50-80 who have a 20 pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years."

"In the new study, published on November 21 in JAMA Network Open, Northwestern Medicine investigators recommend expanding the universal age-based screening to 40-85. They estimate this would detect 94 percent of lung cancers, preventing more than 26,000 extra deaths annually. The research also demonstrates that such screening would be remarkably cost-effective, with the minimal risks from radiation exposure or biopsies far outweighed by the potential to save lives."

""We moved to universal age-based screening for breast and colon cancer with tremendous success, and we need to move to the same approach for lung cancer. Chest screening offers something unique - with one low-dose scan, we can assess lungs, heart and bones comprehensively. This baseline scan becomes invaluable for monitoring their health over time," said Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of thoracic surgery and executive director of the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute."

Only 35 percent of nearly 1,000 consecutive lung cancer patients would have met current USPSTF screening criteria; two-thirds who would have been excluded were disproportionately women and never-smokers. USPSTF currently recommends annual low-dose CT for adults ages 50–80 with a 20 pack-year smoking history who currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years. Expanding universal age-based screening to 40–85 could detect about 94 percent of lung cancers and prevent more than 26,000 additional deaths annually. A single low-dose chest CT can assess lungs, heart, and bones, and projected risks from radiation or biopsies are minimal compared with lives saved, making the approach highly cost-effective.

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