Lung-RADS Reduces False Positives, But Also Sensitivity

February 11, 2015

Low-dose CT screening for lung cancer following Lung-RADS criteria may reduce false positives, but it also decreases sensitivity.

Lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography may substantially reduce the false-positive result rate, but sensitivity is also decreased, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers from several states performed a study to assess the retrospective application of the Lung-RADS criteria to the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST).

The study included 26,722 participants (aged 55 to 74) who had undergone three annual low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) scans. The subjects had at least a 30–pack-year history of smoking, and were current smokers or had quit within the past 15 years.

The results showed that 26,455 participants received a baseline screen and 48,671 screenings were performed after baseline.

	At baseline	After baseline
False-positive rate for Lung-RADS	12.8%	5.3%
False-positive rate for NLST	26.6%	21.8%
Baseline sensitivity for Lung-RADS	84.9%	78.6%
Baseline sensitivity for NLST	93.5%	93.8%

The researchers concluded that while Lung-RADS may substantially reduce the false-positive result rate, sensitivity is also decreased. They suggest that the effect of using Lung-RADS criteria in clinical practice must be carefully studied.