Lung Cancer Screening Tool Hits the Road
April 9, 2001 -- An ultra-fast CT scan is being advertised on billboards and in newspapers across the country, with claims it can diagnose lung cancer early and, therefore, save the lives of people stricken by the world's No. 1 cancer killer. Now mobile trucks are making the rounds, much like mobile mammography vehicles. Just climb inside for $200 to get screened for lung cancer. Well, is it really worth it?
Two prestigious medical groups -- the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association -- issued a consensus statement last year after a thorough review of scientific literature on the usefulness of ultra-fast CT scans in diagnosing heart disease. The test overstates the risk of heart disease, the statement said.
If you are at risk for lung cancer, should you do it?
On the "pro" side: In one study involving two centers -- New York Presbyterian Hospital and New York University Medical Center -- 1,000 people over age 60, all of whom had been smoking for more than 10 years, received the ultra-fast CT scan. More than 80% of the tumors identified in that study were early-stage tumors, which can be curable if they are surgically removed.
On the "con" side: A 20-year study from the National Cancer Institute last year found that male smokers who underwent intense screening were somewhat more likely to die from lung cancer than those who went for the more standard, yearly exams. Conducted between 1971 and 1983, the trial compared the death rate from lungcancer in more than 9,000 male smokers who received either intense or standard lung cancer screening. Those in one group had a chest X-ray and sputum tests every four months for six years. Another group got a single recommendation at the start of the study: to have the same screening once a year.
Results: Although the men in the frequent-screening group survived longer with cancer, there was no difference in the number of deaths from cancer between the two groups.
Shouldn't early detection reduce the number of lung cancer deaths? Not necessarily, says Pamela M. Marcus, MS, PhD, a cancer prevention specialist at the NCI who led the institute's 20-year study.
Lung Cancer Screening Tool Hits the Road
April 9, 2001 -- An ultra-fast CT scan is being advertised on billboards and in newspapers across the country, with claims it can diagnose lung cancer early and, therefore, save the lives of people stricken by the world's No. 1 cancer killer. Now mobile trucks are making the rounds, much like mobile mammography vehicles. Just climb inside for $200 to get screened for lung cancer. Well, is it really worth it?
Two prestigious medical groups -- the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association -- issued a consensus statement last year after a thorough review of scientific literature on the usefulness of ultra-fast CT scans in diagnosing heart disease. The test overstates the risk of heart disease, the statement said.
If you are at risk for lung cancer, should you do it?
On the "pro" side: In one study involving two centers -- New York Presbyterian Hospital and New York University Medical Center -- 1,000 people over age 60, all of whom had been smoking for more than 10 years, received the ultra-fast CT scan. More than 80% of the tumors identified in that study were early-stage tumors, which can be curable if they are surgically removed.
On the "con" side: A 20-year study from the National Cancer Institute last year found that male smokers who underwent intense screening were somewhat more likely to die from lung cancer than those who went for the more standard, yearly exams. Conducted between 1971 and 1983, the trial compared the death rate from lungcancer in more than 9,000 male smokers who received either intense or standard lung cancer screening. Those in one group had a chest X-ray and sputum tests every four months for six years. Another group got a single recommendation at the start of the study: to have the same screening once a year.
Results: Although the men in the frequent-screening group survived longer with cancer, there was no difference in the number of deaths from cancer between the two groups.
Shouldn't early detection reduce the number of lung cancer deaths? Not necessarily, says Pamela M. Marcus, MS, PhD, a cancer prevention specialist at the NCI who led the institute's 20-year study.