21 Nov Low Dose Chest CT of High Risk Patients Results In Fewer Lung Cancer Deaths
MedicalResearch.com Interview with
Dr. Peter Mazzone MD, FCCP
Regarding
CHEST lung cancer experts recent policy statement to CMS Committee on Coverage for Lung Cancer Screening
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Mazzone: The National Lung Screening Trial showed that lung cancer screening of a well-defined group, at high risk of developing lung cancer, with a low dose chest CT scan results in fewer lung cancer deaths. The results from this large and well supported trial are being translated into clinical practice. Our report describes a framework for developing and monitoring lung cancer screening programs that will help ensure the benefits of screening outweigh the harms.
Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Mazzone: Our report describes 9 key components of high quality lung cancer screening (who to screen, how often and how long, how to perform the scan, defining a positive scan, how to report the scan, how to manage lung nodules, the inclusion of smoking cessation, patient and provider education, and data collection/reporting). It is our hope that clinicians developing lung cancer screening programs will use this framework to provide high quality lung cancer screening.
Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this report?
Dr. Mazzone: Each component of our report has a section on future research. Lung cancer screening will be optimized through developments within each component (e.g. incorporating lung cancer risk prediction, studying lung nodule management algorithms).
Last Updated on November 21, 2014 by Marie Benz MD FAAD