USPSTF Recommends Lung Cancer Screening for Heavy Smokers

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) has now recommended heavy smokers to get low-dose CT scans to check for lung cancer.

The Task Force posted its evidence supporting CT scans for smokers and has invited public comment on this draft recommendation until August 26.

In the U.S., cigarette smoking is associated with 90 percent of all lung cancers. Tobacco products have about 7,000 chemicals of which at least 70 are known to cause cancer. A person who smokes is about 15 to 30 percent more susceptible to developing lung cancer than a person who doesn't smoke, according to CDC.

Lung cancer screening wasn't adopted previously because many doctors doubted that the screenings' efficiency in detecting the disease in its earliest stages. Recently, in 2010, a study by National Cancer Institute found that CT scans can detect cancer in early stages and reduces the risk of death in high-risk groups by about 16 percent, The New York Times reported. The new recommendations are in draft form and if approved, could make cancer screening, standard for high-risk groups.

"The more you smoke over time, the more at risk you are for lung cancer. When deciding who should be screened, clinicians will need to assess the person's age, overall health, how much the person has smoked, and whether the person is still smoking or how many years it has been since the person quit," says Task Force co-vice chair Michael LeFevre, M.D. "This evaluation will help clinicians decide whether it may be beneficial to screen a given person.

LeFevre added that CT scans for high-risk smokers could prevent 20,000 deaths a year, Reuters reported.

The present screening recommendations are for people between 55 and 80 years of age who smoke a lot; about 30 pack years or greater. A pack year is when a person smokes a pack of cigarettes each day for a year. Thus, 30 pack years is when a person smokes a pack of cigarettes each day for 30 years or more, according to a press release.

"It's important to remember that helping smokers stop smoking and protecting non-smokers from exposure to tobacco smoke are the most effective ways to decrease the sickness and death associated with lung cancer. In addition, people who quit smoking will continue to see their risk go down over time. Screening for lung cancer is beneficial, but it is not an alternative to quitting smoking," Dr. LeFevre cautioned.