Study Probes Why And How Patients With Lung Cancer Initially Get
Diagnosed With The Disease UT Southwestern Medical Center
researchers are looking into the widespread implementation of
computed-tomography (CT) scanning for the early detection of
lung cancer in a public heath setting, asking two key questions:
Without screening, why and how do patients with lung cancer get
diagnosed with the disease in the first place? And what
proportion of these cases would be captured by screening
efforts? Dr. David Gerber, an oncologist and assistant professor
of internal medicine, has used the electronic medical records
data of more than 400 patients in a single-center study that is
further exploring results from the National Lung Screening Trial
(NLST) released in 2010. The NLST already showed a reduction in
lung cancer mortality may result in widespread CT-based
screening of select populations. This population was strictly
defined according to age (55 to 74 years) and smoking history
(at least 30 years of one-pack-a-day