Lung cancer screening prolongs lives in real-world study

Among US veterans diagnosed with lung cancer through the Veterans Health Administration healthcare system, those who underwent screening before diagnosis were more likely to be diagnosed with earlier stage disease and had a higher cure rate than those who had not been screened. The findings come from an observational study published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, and most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Early detection through screening could save lives, and current recommendations state that adults 50–80 years old with at least a 20-pack-year smoking history who currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years should undergo annual imaging tests for lung cancer.

Such screening has been shown to be beneficial in clinical trials, but there are limited data on the real-world effectiveness of lung cancer screening. To investigate, researchers assessed the impact of screening among patients in the Veterans Health Administration healthcare system diagnosed with lung cancer from 2011–2018.

Among 57,919 individuals diagnosed with lung cancer, 2,167 (3.9%) underwent screening before diagnosis. Patients who underwent screening had higher rates of early (stage I) diagnoses compared with those who had no screening (52% versus 27%), lower rates of death from any cause (49.8% versus 72.1%), and death from cancer (41.0% versus 70.3%) over 5 years.

“It is incredible to witness how dedicated national efforts to increase lung cancer screening from the Lung Precision Oncology Program can lead to substantial improvements in lung cancer outcomes,” said co–corresponding author Michael Green, MD, PhD, of the University of Michigan and the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System. 

Additional information
NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. A free abstract of this article will be available via the CANCER Newsroom upon online publication. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com

Full Citation:
“Impact of Lung Cancer Screening on Stage Migration and Mortality among the National VA Lung Cancer Population.” Donna M. Edwards, Mina Pirzadeh, Tony Van, Ralph Jiang, Akshay Tate, Grace Schaefer, Jadyn James, Caroline Bishop, Cydnee Wilson, Nicholas Nedzesky, Aaren Alseri, Anthony Leveque, Amanda Malus, Akbar Waljee, David A. Elliott, Jane Deng, Ann Schwartz, Matthew Schipper, Alex K. Bryant, Nithya Ramnath, and Michael D. Green. CANCER; Published Online: June 10, 2024 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.35340). 

URL Upon Publication: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/cncr.35340

Author Contact: Chris Arbino, Deputy Director of Communications at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, at christopher.arbino@va.gov or +1 734-496-4509

About the Journal
CANCER is a peer-reviewed publication of the American Cancer Society integrating scientific information from worldwide sources for all oncologic specialties. The objective of CANCER is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of information among oncologic disciplines concerned with the etiology, course, and treatment of human cancer. CANCER is published on behalf of the American Cancer Society by Wiley and can be accessed online. Follow CANCER on Twitter @JournalCancer and Instagram @ACSJournalCancer, and stay up to date with the American Cancer Society Journals on LinkedIn.

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