More people will have access to potentially life-saving lung cancer screening exams with the introduction of new guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that reduce the both the age and smoking history needed to qualify for this potentially life-saving, early detection test. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among both men and women in the United States. Unlike colon, breast, cervical and prostate cancers, which are much more likely to be diagnosed in their earliest stages before a patient ever develops symptoms, the majority of lung cancers are diagnosed once a patient has already become symptomatic, signifying that the cancer is at an advanced stage (stages 3 and 4) and likely no longer curable. The newly updated USPSTF lung cancer screening guideline recommends annual LDCT lung cancer screening for individuals of age 50 to 80 who have a 20-pack-a-year smoking history or who have quit within the past 15 years. USPSTF guidelines serve as an important benchmark for both eligibility access to and government- and private-payer insurance coverage of cancer screenings. “Lung cancer screening guidelines have not yet become fully ingrained in preventive patient care, so lung cancer screening with resultant early detection has historically lagged far behind in lung cancer,” Michael Wert, MD, a pulmonologist and director of the OSUCCCC – James Lung Cancer Screening Program. “We have a scientifically proven screening tool and protocol for lung cancer screening that can save lives. Studies have shown that screening increases survival among affected patients by, at minimum, 20 percent. I urge people who are at increased risk for lung cancer to take advantage of this screening tool, as it could truly save your life through early detection.” Lung Cancer Screening and Primary Care Appointment The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) Lung Cancer Program follows strict guidelines and predictive algorithms to reduce the chance of needing additional, invasive testing procedures while increasing the potential of detecting lung cancers at their earliest stages when both surgical and medical therapies are more likely to achieve cancer control. Patients who are screened have immediate access to radiology and pulmonary consults once the screening LDCT has been performed. “These new lung cancer screening guidelines are much more inclusive, ensuring that the majority of high-risk patients will meet screening criteria. The onus now falls on us as providers to institute these guidelines and on patients to address screening with their doctors,” adds Wert. “Introduction of low-dose CT scans for lung cancer screening has truly saved lives through early detection, and it has the potential to save many more with this most recent change.” Daniel Jonas, MD, general medicine division director at the The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, recently published two studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that informed changes to the USPSTF screening guidelines. Read more about this research here. For more information about lung cancer screening at the OSUCCC – James, visit cancer.osu.edu/lungcancerscreening or call 1-800-293-5066. To find an Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center primary care physician, visit wexnermedical.osu.edu.