Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center among nation’s top cancer organizations to issue joint call to action for increased lung cancer screening
University of Iowa’s Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center has partnered with more than 50 cancer organizations to issue a call to action urging individuals, providers and insurers to increase access to and utilization of low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans for those at high risk for lung cancer.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, accounting for almost 25% of all cancer deaths. Despite advances in treatment and successful efforts to reduce smoking, the disease kills more than 350 people in the U.S. each day – but it doesn’t have to be this way. Lung cancer is so deadly because it is most often diagnosed at an advanced stage when treatment options are limited, and outcomes are poor.
Read the joint statement
The statement from all 50+ cancer centers is a recognition that insufficient vaccination is a public health threat and calls upon the nation’s physicians, parents, and individuals to increase access to and utilization of low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans for those at high risk for lung cancer.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual screening for people ages 50-80 who have smoked for at least 20 years.
Early detection is key to reducing lung cancer deaths, yet screening rates are significantly lower than for other types of cancers. Only 5.7% of eligible Americans were screened for lung cancer before the COVID-19 pandemic — compared to screening rates for breast, cervical and colon cancers that hover between 60% and 80%.