Current or former smoker? American Cancer Society issues new guidelines for lung cancer screenings
The American Cancer Society on Wednesday released an update of its lung cancer screening guideline to help reduce the number of people dying from the disease due to smoking history.
The new guideline recommends yearly screening for lung cancer for people who are between the ages of 50 and 80 who smoke or formerly smoked and have a 20-year or greater pack-year history. Nearly 5 million American adults who smoke and who formerly smoked are now being recommended for screenings, the society said.
“This updated guideline is critical to identify all individuals who can benefit from the early detection of lung cancer,” Lisa Lacasse, president of ACS CAN, said in a statement. “ACS CAN will continue to work to improve access to care and lung cancer screening at no cost for any person at risk of the disease to decrease lung cancer deaths and help end cancer as we know it, for everyone.”
Previous recommendations were for people at risk to be screened between the ages of 55 and 74, with a 30-year or greater pack-year history, and within less than a 15-year window of quitting.
The recommended annual screening test for lung cancer is a low-dose computed tomography scan, or low-dose CT scan, or LDCT scan.
The guideline, last updated in 2013, is published in the ACS flagship journal, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
“This updated guideline continues a trend of expanding eligibility for lung cancer screening in a way that will result in many more deaths prevented by expanding the eligibility criteria for screening to detect lung cancer early,” Dr. Robert Smith, senior vice president of early cancer detection science at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the lung cancer screening guideline report, said in a statement. “Recent studies have shown extending the screening age for persons who smoke and formerly smoked, eliminating the ‘years since quitting’ requirement and lowering the pack per year recommendation could make a real difference in saving lives.”
Lung cancer is the overall leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. and is the second most frequently diagnosed malignancy in both men and women.
In 2023, American Cancer Society researchers estimate 238,340 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed, with 117,550 of the cases in men and 120,790 in women. About 127,070 people are estimated to die from the disease.
While people of any age can get lung cancer, the disease typically occurs in people who are 65 or older, researchers said.
Researchers said people who are going to be screened should consult with their doctor about the potential benefits, limits, and harms of yearly screening with LDCT scans. People who still smoke should receive counseling to help them quit.
Adults with health conditions that would greatly limit life expectancy or affect their ability or willingness to get lung cancer treatment if diagnosed should not be screened for the disease, researchers advised.
“The good news is our research shows the number of new lung cancer cases diagnosed each year continues to decrease, partly because more people are quitting smoking (or not starting),” added Smith. “The number of deaths from lung cancer continues to drop as well, due to fewer people smoking and advances in early detection and treatment, but we still have to do better. This updated guideline is a step in the right direction.”
The complete American Cancer Society updated lung cancer screening guideline, and additional information about lung cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment is available on cancer.org, including the ACS Empowered to Quit program.
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