24 Oct Lung Cancer Screening: Cost Effectiveness of USPSTF Guidelines

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Han

Summer S Han, PhD
Assistant Professor
Quantitative Sciences Unit
Stanford Center for Biomedical Informatics Research (BMIR)
Neurosurgery and Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford, CA 94304 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued their 2021 recommendation on lung cancer screening lowering the start age from 55 to 50 years and the minimum pack-year criterion from 30 to 20, relative to the 2013 recommendations. Although costs are expected to increase with the expanded screening eligibility, it is unknown if the new guidelines for lung cancer screening are cost-effective.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response: This economic evaluation found that the 2021 USPSTF recommendation for lung cancer screening was cost-effective. However alternative screening strategies that maintained a minimum cumulative smoking exposure of 20 pack-years but included individuals who quit smoking within the past 25 years (versus 15 years in the 2021 USPSTF guidelines) may be more cost-effective and warrant further evaluation.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Response: It would be important to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of risk-based screening strategies for lung cancer that use risk prediction models to define screening eligibility (versus using smoking pack-years and quit-years in the USPSTF 2021 recommendation). 

Citation:

Toumazis I, de Nijs K, Cao P, et al. Cost-effectiveness Evaluation of the 2021 US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation for Lung Cancer Screening. JAMA Oncol. Published online October 21, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2021.4942

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Last Updated on October 24, 2021 by Marie Benz MD FAAD