New Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines Could Save Lives
“We have a scientifically proven screening tool and protocol for lung cancer screening that can save lives. Studies have shown that screening increases survival among affected patients by, at minimum, 20%.”
More people will have access to potentially lifesaving lung cancer screening exams with the introduction of new guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) that reduce both the age and smoking history needed to qualify for these early-detection exams.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women in the United States.
Unlike colon, breast, cervical and prostate cancers, which are much more likely to be diagnosed in their earliest stages before a patient develops symptoms, the majority of lung cancers are diagnosed after a patient has become symptomatic, signifying that the cancer is at an advanced stage (stages 3 and 4) and is likely no longer curable.
The newly updated USPSTF lung cancer screening guidelines recommend annual low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for individuals of age 50 to 80 who have a 20-pack-a-year smoking history or who have quit within the past 15 years. USPSTF guidelines serve as an important benchmark for both eligibility access to and governmentand private-payer insurance coverage of cancer screenings.
Michael Wert, MD, a pulmonologist and director of the OSUCCCC – James Lung Cancer Screening Program.
“Lung cancer screening guidelines have not yet become fully ingrained in preventive patient care, so lung cancer screening with resultant early detection has historically lagged far behind (early detection of other cancers),” says Michael Wert, MD, a pulmonologist and director of the Lung Cancer Screening Program at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James).
“We have a scientifically proven screening tool and protocol for lung cancer screening that can save lives,” Wert adds. “Studies have shown that screening increases survival among affected patients by, at minimum, 20%. I urge people who are at increased risk for lung cancer to take advantage of this screening tool, as it could save your life through early detection.”
Lung Cancer Screening and Primary Care Appointment
The OSUCCC – James Lung Cancer Program follows strict guidelines and predictive algorithms to reduce the chance of needing additional, invasive testing procedures while increasing the potential of detecting lung cancers at their earliest stages, when both surgical and medical therapies are more likely to achieve cancer control. Patients who are screened have immediate access to radiology and pulmonary consults once the LDCT has been performed.
“These new lung cancer screening guidelines are much more inclusive, ensuring that the majority of high-risk patients will meet screening criteria. The onus now falls on us as providers to institute these guidelines, and on patients to address screening with their doctors,” Wert says. “Introduction of low-dose CT scans for lung cancer screening has saved lives through early detection, and it has the potential to save many more with this most recent change.”
Daniel Jonas, MD, MPH, director of the Division of General Internal Medicine at the The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, recently published two studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that informed changes to the USPSTF screening guidelines.
For more information about lung cancer screening at the OSUCCC – James, visit cancer.osu.edu/ lungcancerscreening or call 800-293-5066.
To find an Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center primary care physician, visit wexnermedical.osu.edu.