Lung Cancer Screening

As with most cancers, the survival rate of those with lung cancer depends largely on its type and how early the disease is detected. That’s why lung cancer screening is so important for people at high-risk of the disease.

Screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT) reduces the risk of death from lung cancer by up to 20% in individuals at high risk. And yet, only about 16% of lung cancers are detected in early stages, meaning there’s significant room for improvement in our lung cancer screening rates.

Everyone at high risk for lung cancer should receive annual lung cancer screening beginning at age 50. Those at high risk include current and former smokers who quit within the past 15 years and have at least a 20 pack-year smoking history. “Pack years” are calculated by multiplying the number of packs smoked per day by the number of years smoked. For example, someone who smokes a pack a day for 20 years would have a 20 pack-year smoking history, as would someone who smokes two packs a day for 10 years. Screening of individuals at high risk should continue until age 80, or until they’ve been tobacco-free for 15 years.

Current lung cancer screening guidelines call for annual screening of individuals at high risk with low-dose CT scanning. This type of screening is noninvasive and painless. Once the patient is placed into position, the scan takes less than a minute to complete.

Low-dose CT technology takes multiple X-rays of the chest and then compiles them to create detailed, 3-D images of the lungs and surrounding areas. Low-dose CT scans expose patients to less radiation than traditional chest X-ray. The images they produce also are much clearer, meaning lung cancer can be detected when it’s still small and less likely to have spread.

In addition to the use of low-dose CT technology, it’s important that lung cancer screening scans are read by experienced radiologists. Winship’s lung cancer program has a team of dedicated interventional radiologists who are experts in detecting and treating all types of lung cancers long before they cause symptoms.

Early-stage lung cancer does not usually have symptoms. Even when lung cancer does produce symptoms, many people overlook them, assuming they’re due to other smoking-related ailments. People who experience the following signs of lung cancer should talk to their doctor right away:

• Persistent or worsening cough
• Coughing up blood
• Chest pain that’s worse when coughing or deep breathing
• Hoarseness
• Loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss
• Shortness of breath
• Weakness or fatigue
• Persistent bronchitis or pneumonia
• New wheezing

Researchers at Winship are currently studying the potential of blood-based tests to screen for lung and other cancers. Once developed, a blood test could be used in combination with low-dose CT screening to catch even more lung cancers at earlier stages.