Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines: What are the Recommendations?

Lung cancer screening Not as common or routine as other screening tests like Mammogram Breast cancer or Colonoscopy For colon cancer.

Since then, researchers have been discussing it. 1960s What is the best way to perform a lung cancer screening?

From the 1960s to the 1970s Some early studies Screening for lung cancer on a chest x-ray had no benefit.Comprehensive 2011 survey 154,901 participants also found no benefit to most individuals.

However, researchers have found that screening leads to a reduction in cancer deaths in people with a history of heavy smokers and heavy smoking.

Researchers also found that mechanical screening, called low-dose CT scans, reduced cancer deaths by 20 percent compared to X-ray screening.

USPSTF Screening Recommendations

United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Recommended Annual Lung Cancer Screening with Low Dose CT Scans for People:

• 50 to 80 years old
• And Have a history of smoking
• And Currently smoking or quitting smoking within 15 years

Heavy smoking is defined as having at least 20 packs of smoking history.

A pack year means that you smoke an average of one pack per year. For example, 20 pack years smoke 1 pack a day for 20 years.

American Cancer Society Screening Recommendation

The· American Cancer Society Guidelines It is similar to the USPSTF’s, except that it recommends screening for people aged 55-74 instead of 50-80.

In addition, you need to do the following:

• Be pretty healthy
• Get smoking cessation counseling if you are currently smoking
• Be informed about the benefits, limitations, and harms of low-dose CT scans

according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), The only recommended screening test for lung cancer is by low-dose CT scan.

During the screening, lie down on the table where the low-dose CT scanner goes in and out. Scanners use a special type of x-ray to capture many images of the lungs.

The computer inside the scanner puts these images together to create a detailed image of the lungs.

The procedure is quick, painless and takes only a few minutes.

If the scan shows any abnormalities, your doctor will want to do more tests to determine if you have lung cancer.

For these tests, PET scan Or biopsy.. Both of these tests can give the doctor more information about the abnormal cells and whether they are cancerous.

If the screening looks normal but you are in a category with a high risk of lung cancer, you should repeat the screening every year.

Regular lung cancer screening can increase your chances of detecting lung cancer early. If you catch it before it spreads from where it started, your chances of surviving it are greatly increased.

Screening for lung cancer may also help detect other lung problems that may not be easily diagnosed by other methods.

Screening for lung cancer poses some potential risks. For example:

• Lung cancer screening tests can lead to false positives. False positives mean that the test determines that you have cancer when you don’t have it. This can result in unnecessary tests and surgery, which can pose additional risks.
• Screening tests can overdiagnose cancer. This means that cases of cancer that may not have been a problem could be detected.In the case of cancer Slow growth Or if you have other serious health conditions, the diagnosis of lung cancer can lead to unnecessary treatment that can cause harm.
• Lung cancer screening exposes your body to radiation. Repeated exposure to radiation from low-dose CT scanners can increase the risk of lung cancer.

lung cancer Usually there are no noticeable symptoms Early stage..In fact, about 16 percent Many people with lung cancer are diagnosed before they spread to other tissues.

If lung cancer causes symptoms in the early stages, these symptoms include:

If you haven’t smoked in the last 15 years and aren’t 55-80 years old, you won’t need to be screened for lung cancer.

The· CDC We also recommend avoiding lung cancer screening for the following people:

• 81 years old and over
• There are other serious life-threatening health conditions that can make it difficult to undergo surgery for lung cancer

If you have any questions about whether a lung cancer screening is right for you, be sure to talk to your doctor.

Lung cancer screening is a valuable tool that helps detect lung cancer in the early stages, which is the easiest to treat. People at high risk for lung cancer should be screened annually.

Regular screening is generally not recommended unless the risk of developing lung cancer is high.

If you’re not sure if you should be screened, your doctor can help you decide if lung cancer screening is right for you.