Community-based lung cancer screening program: A five-year comprehensive review.

Abstract

e13080 Background: Low-dose chest CT for lung cancer screening has been shown to have a significant impact on the early diagnosis of lung cancer. Initial trials have shown an approximate 20% decrease in overall lung cancer mortality (NLST, 2011). This study incorporates all patients who were evaluated by the Center for Thoracic Disease in a community-based lung cancer screening program from 2013 to 2018. Over the course of the study, thoracic surgeons have evaluated these patients with subsequent interval-based scans to monitor the progression of suspicious nodules. Methods: Eligibility criteria for the program included patients within the age range of 55-80, with a > 30 pack year smoking history, and that were current smokers or quit tobacco less than 15 years ago. Individuals between 50-55 years old were also included if they had > 20 pack year smoking history and at least one additional lung cancer risk factor. All patients included in this analysis completed an initial lung cancer screening consultation and recommended follow-up evaluations with thoracic surgeons from March 2013 to December 2018. All patients with suggestive abnormalities were discussed at a multidisciplinary conference prior to embarking on any invasive procedures. Patient data was collected on REDCap. Descriptive statistics for all continuous (mean ± SD) and categorical [N (%)] variables were calculated on patients. Results: 470 patients were included in the final analysis. The majority of the patients were males (56.4%), mean age was 64 years old (range: 50-81), and 55.3% were current smokers. The average smoking history was 42.3 pack years. 223 (47.6%) patients had a family history of cancer and 70 (14.5%) patients had a personal history of cancer. 25 patients (5.3%) had a diagnosis of primary lung cancer, among whom, 16 patients (64%) had early stage lung cancer (stage 1 and stage 2), 5 patients (20%) had stage 3, and 4 patients (16%) had stage 4 lung cancer. The cancer distribution included 17 adenocarcinomas (68%), 3 squamous cell carcinomas (12%), 3 small cell cancers (12%), 1 large cell cancer (4%) and 1 carcinoid tumor (4%). Conclusions: This study has demonstrated the value of enrolling patients in a community-based lung cancer screening program. Our results have reiterated the prevalence of discovering early staged lung cancer in high risk patients. This comprehensive five-year review indicates the importance of physician coordinated follow-up and evaluation in lung cancer screening patients.