Study: Lung cancer screening doesn't save lives
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- A new study suggests that screening smokers and former smokers for lung cancer doesn't save lives or prevent advanced disease and may lead to unneeded and harmful treatment.
But it's not the final word on CT scans.
Some experts have hoped that the scans, which are a special kind of X-ray that can detect tiny lung abnormalities, will prevent lung cancer deaths by getting people into treatment earlier. But there hasn't been convincing evidence of that.
A large and authoritative scientific study won't be completed for a few years. Without that evidence, the American Cancer Society doesn't recommend the test, which costs $300 to $400, and most insurance companies won't pay for it.
The latest research, appearing in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, analyzed lung cancer deaths and cases of advanced lung cancer among 3,246 smokers and former smokers who had annual CT scans for about four years.
Researchers compared deaths and advanced cancer cases with rates predicted by a mathematical model. The model -- based on a person's age, gender, asbestos exposure and smoking history -- has proven valid in previous studies.
The model predicted there would be 33.4 cases of advanced cancer; there were 42. The model predicted 38.8 lung cancer deaths; there were 38.
"We don't see a trace of evidence that a single life was saved, that a single case of advanced cancer was avoided," said study co-author Dr. Peter Bach of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Entire article:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/03/06/lung.screening.ap/index.html
