Lung cancer screening: where have we been? Where are we going?

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that lung cancer screening with low-dose chest CT (LDCT) has a moderate net benefit on lung cancer mortality when applied to a high-risk population. This review article examines this evidence in light of the earlier failures of lung cancerscreening using chest radiography and/or sputum cytology. Harms associated with LDCT lung cancer screening include false positive results, false negative results, incidental findings, radiation exposure, and overdiagnosis. A number of issues related to implementation are unresolved.