We Can't Find Lung Cancer if We Don't Look for It

Hello. I'm Dr Arefa Cassoobhoy, a practicing internist, Medscape advisor, and senior medical director for WebMD. Welcome to Morning Report, our 1-minute news story for primary care.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. In 2013, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended annual screening with low-dose CT scans for heavy smokers starting at age 55. This includes adults with at least a 30 pack-year history of smoking who currently smoke, or those who have quit within the past 15 years.

Unfortunately, a study shows that in 2016, less than 2% of 7.6 million eligible smokers were screened. And geographic differences were found. The Southern states had the highest number of eligible smokers and the most accredited screening sites but the second lowest rate of screening, at 1.6%.

We're not sure why the use of low-dose CT to screen for lung cancer lags so far behind use of other screening tests, such as mammography and colonoscopy. But this study should be a wake-up call to recognize patients who qualify—per USPSTF criteria—and ensure that they're screened for lung cancer.

Follow Dr Cassoobhoy on Twitter at @ArefaMD

Medscape Internal Medicine © 2018 WebMD, LLC

Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: We Can't Find Lung Cancer if We Don't Look for It - Medscape - Jun 13, 2018.