Lung Cancer Screening Rates Improved With Targeting Mammography Participants

TUESDAY, Dec. 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Identifying women eligible for lung cancer screening (LCS) through screening mammography programs provides an opportunity to increase LCS enrollment, according to a study published in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Kim Lori Sandler, M.D., from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and colleagues evaluated mammography participants from November 2019 to December 2022 at two academic hospitals for potential LCS eligibility. To confirm eligibility and offer LCS, outreach was conducted to potentially eligible participants and referring providers.

The researchers found that 1,569 (4.9 percent) of the 32,165 mammography participants reviewed were confirmed eligible for LCS with chart review; 69 percent of the 1,569 had not previously undergone LCS. At both institutions, there was a significant increase in total LCS examinations among women during the study period. There was an increase in baseline LCS scans from 12 and 28 scans per month at the two institutions before the study period to 18 and 38 scans per month during the study period. During the same time frame, there was no corresponding significant change observed in baseline LCS scans among men at either institution.

“For years, we have recognized that many women screened for breast cancer are in fact dying from lung cancer,” Sandler said in a statement. “This study allowed us the opportunity to inform women and their referring providers of lung screening eligibility and to facilitate lung screening exams.”

One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text