Lung Cancer CT Scans Could Reduce Deaths by 20 Percent: Study

Lung Cancer CT Scans Could Reduce Deaths by 20 Percent: Study
Lung cancer screenings that utilize a type of computed tomography (CT) scan could detect lung cancer in its early stages and reduce deaths by as much as 20 percent, according to recent research. Above, radiology technologist Mary McPolin looks at a CT scan of a lung with a tumor at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
11/5/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/lung_cancer_53402479.jpg" alt="Lung cancer screenings that utilize a type of computed tomography (CT) scan could detect lung cancer in its early stages and reduce deaths by as much as 20 percent, according to recent research. Above, radiology technologist Mary McPolin looks at a CT scan of a lung with a tumor at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)" title="Lung cancer screenings that utilize a type of computed tomography (CT) scan could detect lung cancer in its early stages and reduce deaths by as much as 20 percent, according to recent research. Above, radiology technologist Mary McPolin looks at a CT scan of a lung with a tumor at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1812562"/></a>
Lung cancer screenings that utilize a type of computed tomography (CT) scan could detect lung cancer in its early stages and reduce deaths by as much as 20 percent, according to recent research. Above, radiology technologist Mary McPolin looks at a CT scan of a lung with a tumor at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Lung cancer screenings that utilize a type of computed tomography (CT) scan could detect lung cancer in its early stages and reduce deaths by as much as 20 percent, according to recent research released by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

The study, conducted by the NCI-sponsored National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), examined more than 53,000 adults aged 55 to 74 who were or are heavy smokers, and found that a low-dose helical CT scan was more effective than a traditional chest X-ray in detecting lung cancer and preventing deaths.

“This is the first time that we have seen clear evidence of a significant reduction in lung cancer mortality with a screening test in a randomized controlled trial,” Christine Berg, NLST project officer for the NCI study, said in a statement. “The fact that low-dose helical CT provides a decided benefit is a result that will have implications for the screening and management of lung cancer for many years to come.”

Participants in the study were randomly assigned to either low-dose helical CT scans or chest X-rays, and underwent screening at the beginning of their trial, as well as after one and two years, and were followed for up to five years. Researchers found that those surveyed were 20.3 percent more likely of dying from lung cancer if they were screened using chest X-rays compared to the low-dose helical CT.

While the chest X-ray only takes one image of the chest and the patient has to hold his or her breath for less than a second, a helical CT scan takes several images of the chest and requires a breath-hold of several seconds.

Scientists said that the new research shows the helical CT scan has the potential to prevent lung cancer deaths if used more widely.

“The results of this trial provide objective evidence of the benefits of low-dose helical CT screening in an older, high-risk population and suggest that if low-dose helical CT screening is implemented responsibly, and individuals with abnormalities are judiciously followed, we have the potential to save thousands of lives,” Denise Aberle, NLST principal investigator for the American College of Radiology Imaging Network, said in a statement.

However, researchers warned that the helical CT could risk excessive radiation exposure after multiple scans, as well as misdiagnoses for suspicious objects that turn out not to be lung cancer.
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