MADISON, Wis. – Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and doctors are highlighting the importance of lung cancer screening to save lives
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the United States, not counting skin cancer, right behind breast cancer for women and prostate cancer for men. In fact, someone is diagnosed with lung cancer in the U.S. approximately every two minutes, with approximately 360 deaths per day, accounting for roughly one in five cancer deaths, according to the American Lung Association.
And, each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined, according to the American Cancer Society.
Screening is a critical tool for early cancer detection, said Dr. Cheryl Czerlanis, medical oncologist, UW Health, and professor of medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
“Lung cancer is a serious disease, but more people than ever are surviving lung cancer thanks in part to early detection,” she said. “Diagnosing lung cancer before symptoms appear provides us with more treatment options and typically leads to better outcomes for our patients.”
When lung cancer is detected at an early stage, the five-year survival rate is 64%. When not caught until a late stage, the five-year survival rate is only 9%, according to the American Lung Association.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends yearly lung cancer screening for anyone who is between 50 and 80 years old, has a 20-pack year or more smoking history and smokes now or has quit within the past 15 years. A “pack year” is defined as a person smoking an average of one pack of cigarettes per day for one year. Therefore, a person could have a 20-pack year history by smoking one pack a day for 20 years or two packs a day for 10 years.
Lung cancer screening is done using a low-dose CT scan, which is a special kind of X-ray that takes multiple pictures as a patient lies on a table. This provides a detailed picture of the lungs, including any nodules and abnormalities in the lungs, according to Dr. Nameer Mardini, medical oncologist at UW Health in northern Illinois, who specializes in lung cancer.
“We want everyone who may qualify to speak to their primary care provider to determine if and when lung cancer screening will be right for them,” he said. “Screening works best when this technology is targeted to those at higher risk, and for these patients, annual scans are essential for early detection.”
Lung cancer screening with low-dose CT scans has been recommended for those at high risk since 2013, but only 16% of those eligible were screened in 2022, according to the American Lung Association.
If a scan suggests possible cancer, UW Health offers robotic-assisted bronchoscopy, a minimally invasive procedure that uses a small camera on a flexible tube to closely examine the lungs. This innovative technology allows a care team to quickly and accurately determine whether an abnormality from a screening is cancerous, and if so, identify the stage, according to Dr. J. Scott Ferguson, pulmonologist, UW Health, and professor of medicine, UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
“If a lung cancer screening detects a concerning abnormality, a biopsy procedure is usually performed,” said Ferguson, who is also the director of the University of Wisconsin Interventional Pulmonology Program. “This robotic technology gives the patient an easier experience that is very accurate, minimizing unnecessary or invasive procedures and ensuring patients get the best possible care plan as soon as possible.”
