Lung Cancer Screening

Abstract

<p>Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Its overall poor prognosis is attributable to the fact that most patients<br />remain asymptomatic until the disease is advanced and, therefore, present with late-stage incurable disease. e rationale for LC screening<br />is that early detection of asymptomatic disease oers the opportunity for earlier intervention, at a stage when denitive cure is still feasible,<br />which has the potential to reduce LC-related mortality and morbidity. e ndings of the National Lung Screening Trial provided the rst<br />strong evidence in support of this rationale. Since its publication, several professional organisations and societies have developed guidelines<br />recommending the implementation of LC screening with low-dose computed tomography in asymptomatic, high-risk individuals. Although<br />the benets of such screening programmes may be signicant, they must be carefully weighed against the potential harms to the relatively large<br />number of healthy individuals who would undergo screening. is review examines the available evidence and current recommendations for<br />LC screening, including benets, potentials harms and requirements for implementation of a high-quality, safe and eective programme. In<br />addition, the costs and availability of LC screening programmes in both the global and local settings are considered.</p>