title: The use of a smartphone application for fast lung cancer risk assessment†.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The overall prognosis of lung cancer is poor: Only every 8 patient survives 5 years after diagnosis. This outcome is partly attributable to late diagnosis. To implement a screening program for early diagnosis, selection of high-risk individuals is essential. Our aim was to construct a personalized lung cancer risk assessment tool using geographic localization to lead the high-risk individuals to the local health care provider.
  
  
  METHODS
  A smartphone application was created for Android and iOS mobile platforms using a risk assessment questionnaire. The software provides immediate classification into low, moderate and high-risk groups. The high-risk group is directed to the nearest screening centre based on GPS location. The complete test data set is recorded on a collection server database for further analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The application was downloaded 13 890 times and completed by 89 500 persons over a period of 20 months. The mean age of the tested users was 36.91 years (9-93 years); the majority were men living in an urban area (62.3%). The test was completed by 38 850 active smokers and 26 710 persons who reported having already quit smoking, resulting in 30 072 moderate and 10 740 high-risk users.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This free application is an active communication tool for most smartphone owners. It helps those who might need further medical attention. The affected users can be easily connected and localized via the smartphone, which helps recruit individuals into screening programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary.
authors.forename: Zalan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Szanto
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary.
authors.forename: Istvan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Benko
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary.
authors.forename: Laszlo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jakab
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary.
authors.forename: Gabor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Szalai
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary.
authors.forename: Andras
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vereczkei
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D063731:Mobile Applications; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D000068997:Smartphone; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Lung cancer screening; Risk assessment; Smartphone application