An Opportunity to Reduce Disparities in Lung Cancer Screening

Abstract

Based on the 2021 update of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lung cancer screening criteria, the study by Ritzwoller et al 1 estimated the population-level changes in screening eligibility by sex, race and ethnicity, sociodemographic factors, and comorbidities using the electronic health records of 5 community-based health care systems. When applying the 2021 USPSTF criteria, the authors found an additional 18 533 individuals, or a 53.7% relative increase from the 2013 criteria, among those who were eligible for lung cancer screening from January 1, 2010, to September 30, 2019. 1 Along with identifying populations who are newly eligible for lung cancer screening, the updated USPSTF criteria were associated with an increased proportion of women, racial and ethnic minority groups, those with lower comorbidity burden, and those with low socioeconomic status being eligible for screening. Accordingly, wider screening was associated with an estimated 30% increase in lung cancer diagnosis. 1