Screening for lung cancer: in pursuit of pre-metastatic disease.
One reason for the high death rate of lung cancer is that tumours are not usually detected until the disease is at a late stage, at which point the cancer is non-curable. Spiral computerized tomography is a highly sensitive imaging method that could be used to screen high-risk populations, such as current or former smokers, for early-stage tumours. Trials to validate this tool are just underway, but beyond the imaging tools, population-based care of pre-metastatic lung cancer requires considerable evolution in clinical management approaches. More sensitive imaging tools might also provide a window into earlier biology, enabling the molecular dynamics of lung cancer progression to be elucidated.
Mulshine
James L
JL
Intervention Section, Cell and Cancer Biology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes for Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1906, USA. mulshinj@mail.nih.gov
D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D036542:Tomography, Spiral Computed