By Steven Reinberg SUNDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) -- Using low-
dose CT scans to screen for lung cancer might save the lives of
patients at the greatest risk for the disease, a new analysis
suggests. However, the risks of screening for others aren't
clear, the researchers added. "We have insight into risks, but
they are hard to weigh and estimate," said lead researcher Dr.
Peter Bach, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New
York City. "It's clear that when you screen you find cancers
that otherwise wouldn't appear, and that leads to
overtreatment," he said. "It is clear that CTs find lots of
things that aren't cancer. About one in five people have
something found that will require some sort of follow-up." There
is also an excess radiation risk. In one trial, screening
prevented about three deaths per 1,000 people screened, while
one in 2,500 might develop cancer from the CT scan, Bach said.
However, in the right population it could theoretically prevent
thousands of deaths a year, he explained. Nam