New lung cancer screening recommendations
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released its draft lung cancer screening recommendations, which rec- ognize the importance of prevention for people at greater risk for lung cancer. USPSTF recommends annual low- dose computerized tomography (CT) screening for those at high risk for lung cancer and defines high-risk individuals as current and former smokers, aged 55 to 79 years, who have significant cumu- lative tobacco smoke exposure and have smoked within the past 15 years. “It is critical that the USPSTF move quickly to finalize these recommen- dations so that individuals who meet the guidelines for annual lung cancer screenings can begin to receive this preventive treatment. As a result of the Affordable Care Act, the potentially life- saving screening will occur at no cost to them,” said Harold Wimmer, national president and chief executive officer for the American Lung Association. Last year, the American Lung Associa-
tion released its guidelines to help phy- sicians and their patients in discussions about lung cancer screening. The associ- ation’s guidelines, based on the National Cancer Institute National Lung Screen- ing Trial, mirror that of USPSTF’s draft recommendations. The American Lung Association says lung cancer screening is a promising clinical strategy for the detection of presymptomatic lung cancer in individuals at the highest risk. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for men and women in the United States and has a five-year sur- vival rate of only 15 percent. The most important risk factor for lung cancer is smoking, and the best thing people can do to prevent lung cancer is to stop smoking or to never start. n
Crystal Zuzek is an associate editor of Texas Medicine. You can reach her by telephone at (800) 880-1300, ext. 1385, or (512) 370-1385; by fax at (512) 370-1629; or by email at
crystal.zuzek@texmed.org.
October 2013 TEXAS MEDICINE 47
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