title: Lung cancer screening: past, present and future.
abstract: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for men and women. Most lung cancer cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, when cure is no longer an option; this heavily influences mortality. Historically, attempts at lung cancer screening using chest x-rays and sputum cytology have failed to influence lung cancer mortality. However, the recent National Lung Screening Trial demonstrated that low-dose computed tomography screening for lung cancer decreases mortality. This article outlines the history of lung cancer screening, the current state of screening and possible future adjuncts to screening.
authors.affiliation: Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO 80206, USA. FiniganJ@NJHealth.org
authors.forename: James H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Finigan
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kern
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000266:history; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods
keywords: Chest radiograph; Low-dose computed tomography; Lung cancer screening; National Lung Screening Trial