Health

Annual lung cancer CT screenings could improve patient's chance of survival, study finds

By Mallika Marshall, MD

November 9, 2023 / 5:33 PM EST / CBS Boston

Annual lung cancer CT screenings could save lives, study finds

BOSTON - A new study finds that annual lung cancer screening could dramatically improve a patient's chances of survival.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. and more than half of patients will die within one year of diagnosis. That's because most lung cancers aren't diagnosed until symptoms appear when it's often too late for a cure.

But a large-scale 20-year international study of nearly 90,000 current smokers, former smokers, and people exposed to secondhand smoke has found that patients diagnosed with lung cancer by annual low-dose CT screening have a 20-year survival rate of 81%, as high as 95% if discovered in its earliest stages.

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Lung Cancer

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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