Lung cancer screening refers to strategies used to identify early lung cancer before it causes symptoms, at a point where they are more likely to be curable. Results from the landmark National Lung Cancer Screening Trials, which indicate that screening with low-dose helical computed tomography (CT) reduces mortality from lung cancer, have been published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Screening heavy smokers for lung cancer does reduce deaths, without leading to too many dangerous follow-up tests, and researchers now have the numbers to prove it. Doctors give a lung cancer screening to find a disease early on, when treatment may work better.

How Lung Cancer Screening Procedure

The lung cancer screening test is performed with a low-dose spiral (helical) CT. in Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan, the CT scanner rotates around your body, while you lie still on a table that passes through the center of the scanner. The CT for Lung Cancer Screening provides detailed images of the inside of your body, made by a computer that combines the x-ray images taken from different angles. The CT lung cancer screening can be performed with a single short breath-hold and takes less than 7-15 seconds.

There are also other lung cancer screening tests like sputum cytology (looking under a microscope for cancer cells in mucus brought up from the lungs by coughing) and Spiral (helical) CT scans of the lungs (CAT scans are detailed images of the inside of the body, made by a computer that combines X-ray images taken from different angles).

There is fair evidence that low-dose CAT scans,chest X-rays, and sputum cytology can find cancers earlier than they would be found without lung cancer screening, but there is little evidence that these screening tests actually prevent people from dying from lung cancer.

Drawbacks of Lung Cancer Screening

Lung cancer screening also has its downside. Screening tests may find spots (abnormalities) in the lungs that are not cancers. However, a screening test does not always show the difference between cancers and other abnormalities that are not cancers.

More tests may be needed to find out if the spot is a cancer. These tests might include removing a small piece of lung tissue for more testing (biopsy). This means that some people might have a surgical procedure even though they don’t have cancer. These procedures have risks associated with them. They also can cause anxiety and cost money.

Experts do not know if the benefits of lung cancer screening outweigh the potential harms. For these reasons, experts do not currently recommend for or against screening for lung cancer. Lung cancer screening with chest X-rays was once promoted by some experts, but researchers found out that people who were screened did not have a lower death rate than people who were not screened.

The purpose of lung cancer screening is to detect and diagnose an underlying medical condition that you may have at an early stage to improve the treatment effectiveness and options. The images will be reviewed for the presence of lung nodules, masses, or other abnormalities suspicious for lung cancer as well as other findings of potential clinical importance. That’s why lung cancer screening is important.

Lung Cancer Screening – Mayo Clinic