Lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography at a tertiary hospital in Anhui, China and secondary analysis of trial data

Abstract

Lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) partly reduces cancer-specific mortality. However, few data have described this specific population for screening in mainland China. Here, we conducted a population-based screening program in Anhui, China. 9084 individuals were participating in the screening program for lung cancer in Anhui province from 1 June 2014 to 31 May 2017. LDCT was offered to all participants who joined the program. Of 9084 individuals undergoing LDCT, we detected 54 lung cancers (0.594%). The age with the highest rate was 61-65 years (up to 1.016%), followed by 56-60 (0.784%). Most patients (98.1%, 53/54) were in stage I-II (early stage), and only one was in stage III (advanced stage). Adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and small cell lung cancer accounted for 57.4% (31/54), 37% (20/54) and 5.6% (3/54) of the individuals, respectively. Notably, There were 4,102 never smokers in our study. The median age was 63 years. Males and females accounted for 53.4 and 46.6%, respectively. Among the 4102 never smokers, 96 participants had a positive family cancer history. Additionally, we detected 20 lung cancers (0.488%), slightly lower than the whole rate 0.594%. Finally, our data showed that age, smoking, family cancer history and features of nodules were risk factors for lung cancer. Our study qualified the efficiency of LDCT to detect early-stage lung cancers in Anhui, China. Further establishment of appropriate lung cancer screening methods specifically for individuals in China is warranted. We evaluated the performance of lung cancer screening for asymptomatic populations using LDCT in Anhui, an eastern inland province of China. Our study qualified the efficiency of LDCT to detect early-stage lung cancers in Anhui, China.