DENVER – Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in Ontario. Screening for lung cancer using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) has been the subject of many research studies since the 1990s. The National Lung Screening Trial compared LDCT with chest radiograph in high-risk populations and found a 20 percent reduction in lung cancer mortality at 6 years with LDCT after an initial scan and two annual rounds of screening. While there are still gaps regarding the use of CT-screening, researchers in Ontario developed evidence-based recommendations for screening high-risk populations for lung cancer. Their guideline recommendations are published in the October issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's journal, the Journal of Thoracic Oncology ( JTO ). The key recommendations are:
To read the full guidelines, the key evidence and justifications, please see the full article.
The lead author is IASLC member Dr. Heidi Roberts. Dr. Kazuhiro Yasufuku is a co-author and IASLC member.
About the IASLC:
The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is the only global organization dedicated to the study of lung cancer. Founded in 1974, the association's membership includes more than 3,500 lung cancer specialists in 80 countries. To learn more about IASLC please visit http://www.iaslc.org .
Journal of Thoracic Oncology