A More Effective Model for Lung Cancer Screening
Lung cancer screening based on PLCOm2012 model criteria is more effective than the USPSTF criteria.
Use of new criterion improves lung cancer screening efficiency, according to a study published in PLOS Medicine.
Researchers from Ontario, Canada; Minnesota; Wisconsin; South Carolina; Michigan; and Maryland sought to identify a risk threshold for selecting individuals for lung cancer screening, compare its efficiency to the U.S Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) criteria, and determine whether never-smokers should be screened.
The USPSTF recommends annual screening based on hard cutoffs for age and smoking duration/intensity, and does not recommend screening former smokers who quit more than 15 years ago.
The researchers applied the PLCOm2012 model, which was based on six-year lung cancer incidence, to identify people who should receive annual CT screening. This threshold was applied, alongside the USPSTF criteria, to smokers who were screened in the PLCO trial.
The results showed that 8.8% fewer people exceeded the threshold than met the USPSTF criteria, but 12.4% more lung cancers were identified using the threshold. Using the threshold resulted in higher sensitivity (80.1% versus 71.2%), specificity (66.2% versus 62.7%), and positive predictive values (4.2% versus 3.4%) than UPSTF criteria.
Among the former smokers, 8.5% who quit more than 15 years ago exceeded the PLCOm2012 threshold. No never-smokers exceeded the threshold. Risks and incidence of lung cancer were significantly greater for smokers aged 65 to 80 than among those aged 55 to 64.
"This should make lung cancer screening more attractive for policy-makers, and more affordable for health systems,” the authors said.
Use of the PLCOm2012 risk criterion can improve screening efficiency, the authors concluded.
Chest CT Study Shows Higher Emphysema Risk from Combination of Marijuana and Cigarette Smoking
November 28th 2023People who smoke marijuana and cigarettes have 12 times the risk for centrilobular emphysema than non-smokers, according to new computed tomography (CT) research presented at the annual Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference.
The Reading Room: Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Cancer Screenings, and COVID-19
November 3rd 2020In this podcast episode, Dr. Shalom Kalnicki, from Montefiore and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, discusses the disparities minority patients face with cancer screenings and what can be done to increase access during the pandemic.
Study Suggests CT-Guided Injections May Restore Sense of Smell in Patients with Long COVID
November 20th 2023Utilizing computed tomography (CT) guidance, researchers have found that performing a minimally invasive anesthetic injection into the stellate ganglia may help address parosmia due to COVID-19, according to study results that will be presented at the annual Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference next week.
