Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comment
. 2020 Aug 26;20(1):225.
doi: 10.1186/s12890-020-01252-1.

Lack of benefit from low dose computed tomography in screening for lung cancer - comment on paper by Huang K-L et al

Affiliations
Comment

Lack of benefit from low dose computed tomography in screening for lung cancer - comment on paper by Huang K-L et al

Don Benjamin. BMC Pulm Med. .

Abstract

The article by Huang K-L et al. Effects of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening on lung cancer contains a conclusion that is not consistent with the data presented. With reference to the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) there are several flaws in the methodology overlooked. Also there is no significant reduction in deaths from all causes following the screening. Therefore any claim that the LDCT screening is superior to usual care is invalid.

Keywords: Low dose computed tomography; Lung cancer screening; Methodology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that he has no competing interests.

Comment in

Comment on

References

    1. Huang K-L, et al. Effects of low-dose computed tomography on lung cancer screening: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and trial sequential analysis. BMC Pulm Med. 2019;19:126. doi: 10.1186/s12890-019-0883-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. National Lung Screening Trial Research Team Reduced lung-cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomographic screening. N Engl J Med. 2011;365(5):395–409. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1102873. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Oken MM, for the PLCO Project Team et al. Screening by chest radiograph and lung cancer mortality. The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Randomized Trial. JAMA. 2011;306(17):1865–1873. doi: 10.1001/jama.2011.1591. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Black W, Haggerstrom D, Welch HG. All-cause mortality in randomized trials of cancer screening. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2002;94(3):167–173. doi: 10.1093/jnci/94.3.167. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Reich JM, Kim JS. The National Lung Screening Trial premise of null and chest radiography equivalence is open to question. Am J Roentgenol. 2015;205:278–279. doi: 10.2214/AJR.14.13945. - DOI - PubMed

Grants and funding