Abstract
Results from lung cancer screening trials are promising and show improved survival of lung cancer patients, mainly due to a shift in tumor stages at the time of detection. More lung nodules for histopathologic workup and earlier tumor stages translate into more patients and work load for thoracic surgical units. This article provides a view on lung cancer screening from a thoracic surgeon’s perspective.
Highlights
In 2015, 2956 men and 1904 women were diagnosed with lung cancer in Austria, making it the second most common cancer for both men and women [1]
As tumor stage at diagnosis is of prognostic relevance, a high number of advanced tumor stages at diagnosis cause the high mortality of lung cancer [1, 2]
Two randomized controlled trials showing reduction of mortality from lung cancer serve as basis for a current discussion to establish lung cancer screening programs: The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) conducted in the US; and the NELSON Trial conducted in the Netherlands and Belgium [7, 8]
Summary
In 2015, 2956 men and 1904 women were diagnosed with lung cancer in Austria, making it the second most common cancer for both men and women [1]. As tumor stage at diagnosis is of prognostic relevance, a high number of advanced tumor stages at diagnosis cause the high mortality of lung cancer [1, 2]. These facts about incidence and distribution of lung cancer cases in Austria clearly highlight the burden of this disease. Like checkpoint inhibitors, are able to improve survival [4, 5]. They rarely cure patients and long-term survivors of metastatic disease are uncommon. A recently published European position statement strongly suggests implementing lung cancer screening programs across Europe [9]
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