Screening for lung cancer: An evidence-based synthesis

Abstract

At present, screening for lung cancer is not recommended; however, consideration of the evidence on the basis of conventional screening criteria, including burden of disease, detectable preclinical phase, accuracy, and acceptability, suggests that screening is likely to be highly beneficial. The most important question relates to effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, which in turn is paradigm dependent. An evidence-based synthesis supports the conclusion that chest radiographs deserve to become the community standard for those at high risk for lung cancer.