NEW RESEARCH: Our Faculty Investigator, Joshua Rager, MD, MA, MS, recently published findings from a microsimulation study estimating individualized quality-adjusted life-years saved with lung cancer screening in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The study identified two net benefit thresholds for lung cancer screening and compared this approach with the current United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines, finding that half of the USPSTF lung cancer screening-eligible population is a in a high-net-benefit group, while current lung cancer screening eligibility criteria likely excludes many others who could be high or intermediate net benefit.
IMPACT: As there is little guidance on how to personalize recommendations for lung cancer screening, this study fills a much needed void. Current guidelines often exclude many persons with appreciable lung cancer risk who would have a moderate net benefit; 2 million adults who are high net benefit and 20 million adults at intermediate net benefit. This appraoch can provide a path for promoting lung cancer screening rates, which are lower than many other cancer screening programs in the US. Increasing screening rates can vastly improve the quality-adjusted life-years for those at risk on lung cancer.
Read the full study here.