Cancer Center expert urges lung cancer screenings as too few at-risk patients get tested
Local 12 highlights research that found only 15% of eligible Americans discuss screening with doctor
The University of Cincinnati Cancer Center's Robert Van Haren, MD, spoke with Local 12 about the need for more awareness and discussions around lung cancer screenings.
Lung cancer screenings can save lives by detecting cancer in its early stages, but only 15% of eligible American adults have discussed the screening with their doctors, according to data analysis performed by Van Haren and other University of Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers.
The findings recently published in the American Journal of Surgery emphasize the need to raise awareness and better educate the public about screening through low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans. A low-dose CT scan is a special kind of X-ray that uses less radiation than a standard CT scan.
“Catching lung cancer early, we can cure it, and the success rates from surgery can be as high as 80 or 90 percent,” Van Haren told Local 12. “[Screening] really saves lives. It reduces mortality by up to 30%. So it has a huge impact and is a huge tool for us to help fight that statistic of lung cancer being the deadliest cancer."
Read or watch the Local 12 story.
Featured photo at top of doctors reviewing data while a patient is screened for lung cancer. Photo/UC Health.
Who should be screened for lung cancer?
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends lung cancer screenings using low dose CT scans for adults ages 50 to 80 who have a 20 pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or those who have quit within the past 15 years.
A pack-year is calculated by multiplying the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day by the number of years they have smoked, with one pack-year equivalent to smoking one pack of cigarettes per day for one year or two packs per day for six months. A 20 pack-year history would mean smoking one pack a day for 20 years.
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