Group Recommends Lung-Cancer Screening

An influential expert panel has published its final report that recommends annual tests for people at high risk of developing lung cancer. In the past, screening of people without symptoms was thought to be useless for lung cancer. The tests either found too many harmless spots on lungs, or they did not find cancers early enough to save lives. The new advice comes from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The U.S. government, doctors and insurance companies often follow its advice. The report recommends low-dose CT scans once a year for high-risk adults ages 55 to 79. A high-risk person is defined as someone who has smoked for at least 30 “pack-years.” This could be 30 years of smoking a pack a day, 15 years at 2 packs a day or other combinations. Screening will be offered to anyone in this group who is a current smoker or has quit in the last 15 years.