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X-ray screening does not reduce lung cancer deaths; CT scan screening might do better
MedPage Today
HONOLULU — Screening for lung cancer with chest x-rays annually for four years does not reduce deaths from the disease compared with usual care, a large trial confirmed.
Through up to 13 years of follow-up, the rate of lung cancer mortality was similar in the screening and control groups (14 per 10,000 person-years versus 14.2; RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.22), Paul Kvale, MD, of the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, reported at the American College of Chest Physicians meeting here.
The findings, which were reported simultaneously online in the Journal of the American Medical Association, are consistent with studies conducted in the 1970s and ’80s that also showed no benefit for screening with chest x-rays.
They also complement the findings of the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), which showed a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality with low-dose spiral CT screening relative to chest x-rays, Kvale said.
Although the NLST did not have a usual-care control group like the current trial, one can assume that because chest x-rays were no better than usual care, then CT would result in a reduction in lung cancer deaths relative to usual care, said Kvale, who is a past president of the College.
