Empowering women’s health: Opportunity to bridge breast cancer screening to lung cancer screening.

Abstract

121 Background: Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death for women in the United States (US). It surpasses the combined mortality rate of breast, cervical and ovarian cancers. Early detection of LC at stage I increases the 5-year survival rate to 80%. Lung Cancer Screening (LCS) is an effective tool for early detection. However, while 78% of women over 50 in the US undergo Breast Cancer Screening (BCS), only 6% of eligible women receive LCS. Methods: This is a retrospective study of all women diagnosed with primary LC presenting to Indiana University Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center from January 2019 to December 2020. We collected sociodemographic characteristics and information related to smoking history, LCS and BCS. We excluded patients with a prior history of lung or breast cancer who were under surveillance, and those with unknown smoking history. We assessed the BCS and LCS eligibility and utilization according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force latest recommendations. We also determined the utilization of LCS in women who have received BCS. Results: Among the 307 women who met the eligibility criteria, 87.6% were white, 51.8% had a Medicare insurance, 41.7% were ever-smoker, and 64.5% had advanced stages of LC (Stage II-Stage IV). Approximately half of our cohort was eligible for LCS, but only 20% received LCS. On the other hand, 72% were eligible for BCS and 58% of them underwent BCS. Among women who received BCS and were eligible for LCS, only25% underwent LCS. The median time from BCS to LC diagnosis was approximately 2.2 years. Among the 178 women who received BCS within one year prior to LC diagnosis, 27% underwent LCS. Among the remaining women who did not have LCS,66.7% of women were already in a later stage (Stage II-IV) at the time of LC diagnosis. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that majority of women, who met the eligibility criteria for BCS and LCS, received BCS but not LCS prior to their LC diagnosis. This shows that despite the potential mortality benefit, LCS is still underutilized. Receiving LCS at the time of BCS can provide a valuable opportunity to increase LCS participation among eligible women and the potential of diagnosing LC at earlier stages.