This painless scan can find lung cancer in its early stage.
Lung cancer is the most deadly cancer in the United States – but high-tech imaging lets people who smoke cigarettes get checked for early signs of lung cancer. Lung cancer screening aims to finding lung cancer in its earliest stages, when it is the easiest to treat.
Screening for early lung cancer uses a fast, painless computed tomography (CT) scan. The scan produces a nearly 3-D image of the lungs, to reveal nodules as small as 1 millimeter, the thickness of a grain of rice.
The screening is recommended for people with a longtime smoking habit, and thus are at high risk for lung cancer: adults age 50 to 80 with a 20 pack-year smoking history – that is, smoking one pack of cigarettes per day for 20 years, or the equivalent (for example, smoking half a pack per day for 40 years), whether you’re still smoking or if you quit in the past 15 years.
The purpose of the screening is to detect any lung cancer before it can grow and spread, so that it is easier to treat. The Vanderbilt Lung Screening Program includes a conversation at the beginning of a screening appointment to explain the scan, and what happens next if it detects a suspicious nodule, an abnormal mass in the lung.
The vast majority of people screened at Vanderbilt – about 96 percent — do not show any signs of suspicious nodules, said Dr. Kim Sandler, co-director of the program. Of the small group whose scans reveal any suspicious growth, typically they are asked to come back for another scan within a few months. And of those suspicious-looking nodules, only a small percent are cancerous.
Thus, for most people, a lung screening is merely a brief annual check. For others with potentially problematic results, the next step is usually more imaging tests – not a biopsy or invasive procedure – to watch the nodule over time to see if it grows.
Sandler knows that some people feel reluctant to be screened. That may stem from a worry that the scan will find cancer. Others fear that a positive result (one showing a suspicious growth) will prompt scolding and guilt trips from loved ones who have asked them to quit smoking.
The numbers should reassure most people, Sandler said. As for their families’ reactions, regardless of whether someone is smoking or has quit, if they do have lung cancer, finding it as early as possible makes it easier to treat, possibly without chemotherapy or radiation. For people at high risk for lung cancer, lung screening is inappropriate only for those who truly have no intention of treating the illness, for whatever reason, if they are diagnosed.
If you meet the criteria for lung screening, ask your primary care provider to refer you for lung screening. If you do not currently have a health care provider, Vanderbilt’s program can help you. For more information, visit www.VanderbiltLungScreening.com
