Early screening for lung cancer

As a result of the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial, the use of effective CT scans in early screening for lung cancer in smokers , because of preliminary preliminary results shows clear evidence of a significant reduction in mortality in lung cancer patients, when the CT scan, the screen provides a full picture of lung lesions, three-dimensional scans of tissues in the body .

CT scans will significantly reduce the proportion of deaths from lung cancer, the leading cause of death in the world, according to the National Cancer Institute, USA.

" This research is of great importance worldwide ," said David Gandara, director of breast cancer at UC Davis Cancer Center, USA, president of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, an organization. Lung cancer study of 4,000 members. Gandara said that the results of the study for the first time had limited the proportion of patients who died from lung cancer.

The trials enrolled more than 53,000 smokers aged 55-74, who were screened for lung cancer either as a CT scan or a standard chest X-ray, once at the beginning of the study and twice in The next 2 years. Patients were followed for 5 years.

The researchers found that lung cancer deaths were less than 20% among participants in the lung cancer screening test with CT scans.

Of the total number of lung cancer patients in the study, 354 people died of lung cancer after participating in screening for lung cancer with CT scans. While there were 442 deaths, while participating in screening for lung cancer using traditional X-ray techniques. The study also found that patients with CT scans had a lower mortality rate from other causes.

The cost of CT scans is relatively high and patients should only be exposed to low-dose radiation, according to Gandara, researchers who are testing other ways to screen for lung cancer may have fewer potential side effects.

" There is considerable data about cancer altering some of the blood proteins and there are signs of DNA in the blood ," Gandara said, citing UC Davis recently to find other gene mutations. each other in some lung cancer patients.

While proper CT scans for smokers who are at high risk for lung cancer screening, Gandara said, blood tests will be a more effective screening technique, especially for those who have never been Smoking but may have a genetic predisposition by lung cancer.

Currently, the rate of progression of patients with lung cancer but " never smoke, and no exposure to cigarette smoke ", he said. " These are young patients, mostly young women, some in their 20s or 30s, and their lung cancer has biological causes, quite different from smokers' cancer. I may be able to develop blood tests for all these patients . "