The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force provided updated lung cancer screening guidelines March 9 in a statement published in JAMA. The advice is an update from 2013 guidelines and nearly doubles the number of people eligible for screening.
Three notes:
1. Those aged 50 to 80 with a history of smoking should undergo yearly, low-dose CT scans for lung cancer screening — a reduction from the previous recommendation which suggested screening start at 55.
2. Screening should start for those with a 20-year smoking history instead of a 30 pack-year history. One pack-year is equivalent to smoking about one pack per day for a year.
3. Expanding eligibility aims to address the disproportionate rate at which lung cancer affects women and Black people, who are at higher risk for the disease despite data showing both groups smoke fewer cigarettes than white men, the task force said.
To view the full statement, click here.