Local Trial Supports CT Lung Cancer Screening in High-Risk Population

Cincinnati—Computed tomography (CT) scans are an effective lung cancer screening tool for a high-risk patient population, if done with a strict clinical protocol in place and with the input of a multidisciplinary care team, according to University of Cincinnati (UC) research.

Led by Sandra Starnes, MD, the Cincinnati-based clinical trial was conducted to determine if lung cancer screening could be done effectively among a high-risk population living in a geographic area with rates of histoplasmosis three times higher than the national average.

Histoplasmosis is a fungal infection that enters the body through the lungs and increases the likelihood of lung nodules. These irregular sections of lung tissue can look like lung cancer on CT and lead to unnecessary biopsies.

"Despite having a 60 percent nodule rate, we were able to avoid doing benign biopsies and not miss any lung cancer diagnoses if the protocol was strictly followed. No one was diagnosed at a stage where the lung tumor could not be surgically removed,” says Starnes, director of thoracic surgery at the UC College of Medicine and a surgeon with UC Health.

Starnes and her colleagues report their findings online ahead of print in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

source: University of Cincinnati