Lung Cancer Screening Increases Earlier-Stage Diagnoses, Improves Survival

MONDAY, June 10, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Lung cancer screening (LCS) is associated with earlier-stage diagnoses and improved survival, according to a study published online June 10 in Cancer.

Donna M. Edwards, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues examined the impact of LCS among patients in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) health care system diagnosed with lung cancer between 2011 and 2018. Lung cancer stage at diagnosis, lung cancer-specific survival, and overall survival were compared between patients with cancer who did and did not receive screening before diagnosis.

The researchers found that 3.9 percent of 57,919 individuals diagnosed with lung cancer in the VA system between 2011 and 2018 underwent screening before diagnosis. Compared with those with no screening, those with screening had a higher rate of stage I diagnoses (52 versus 27 percent). Improved five-year overall survival rates (50.2 versus 27.9 percent) and five-year lung cancer-specific survival (59.0 versus 29.7 percent) were seen for screened versus unscreened patients. Screening resulted in substantial reductions in all-cause mortality and lung cancer-specific mortality among screening eligible patients who underwent National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline-concordant treatment (adjusted hazard ratios, 0.79 and 0.61, respectively).

“We hope that the striking association between LCS, earlier-stage diagnosis of lung cancer, and improved mortality spurs a more robust uptake of this life‐saving intervention into clinical practice,” the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to Innovative Analytics.

Abstract/Full Text