Lung cancer screening

Lung cancer, being both frequent and life threatening, is an ideal candidate for screening. In addition, lung cancer is often diagnosed late, whereas early diagnosis is essential for a good chance of cure. However, screening based on radiography or cytologic sputum examination has no demonstrated impact on survival, despite abundant open and randomized studies. Low-dose computed tomography (CT) was recently shown to be far more sensitive than radiography, being capable of detecting early-stage tumors. Unfortunately, CT is also poorly specific, revealing a large number of benign lesions that can generate unnecessary investigations. The possible impact of CT screening on lung cancer mortality must be examined in randomized studies.