 Introduction/Background Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality for men and women in the United States [1]. Screening for lung cancer with annual low-dose CT (LDCT) is saving lives, and the continued implementation of lung cancer screening in clinical practice can save many more [2]. Since the publication of the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) in 2011, which demonstrated a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality with annual lung cancer screening [3], multiple clinical trials have demonstrated similar if not superior results [4-10]. Although there are known potential harms of lung cancer screening, including overdiagnosis and false positive results, the growing evidence has shown that correct implementation of lung cancer screening can provide substantial benefit at low clinical risk [2]. Retrospective analysis of the NLST data using updated standardized reporting specifically has been shown to substantially reduce false-positive rates of this screening test [11]. In 2015, the CMS began covering annual lung cancer screening for those who qualified based on the original United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lung cancer screening criteria, which included patients 55 to 77 years of age with a 30 pack-year history of smoking, who were either currently using tobacco or who had smoked within the previous 15 years. In 2021, the USPSTF issued new screening guidelines, decreasing the age of eligibility to 50 years and pack years to 20 [12,13]. The recommendation was made following a systematic review of the lung cancer screening literature comprised of 223 publications that included 7 randomized clinical trials [14]. New guidelines are estimated to have doubled the population eligible for lung cancer screening in the United States and, importantly, will increase the number of women, underrepresented minorities, and those of lower socioeconomic status who qualify for this life-saving examination [15,16].
Lung Cancer Screening PCAs.  Introduction/Background Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality for men and women in the United States [1]. Screening for lung cancer with annual low-dose CT (LDCT) is saving lives, and the continued implementation of lung cancer screening in clinical practice can save many more [2]. Since the publication of the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) in 2011, which demonstrated a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality with annual lung cancer screening [3], multiple clinical trials have demonstrated similar if not superior results [4-10]. Although there are known potential harms of lung cancer screening, including overdiagnosis and false positive results, the growing evidence has shown that correct implementation of lung cancer screening can provide substantial benefit at low clinical risk [2]. Retrospective analysis of the NLST data using updated standardized reporting specifically has been shown to substantially reduce false-positive rates of this screening test [11]. In 2015, the CMS began covering annual lung cancer screening for those who qualified based on the original United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lung cancer screening criteria, which included patients 55 to 77 years of age with a 30 pack-year history of smoking, who were either currently using tobacco or who had smoked within the previous 15 years. In 2021, the USPSTF issued new screening guidelines, decreasing the age of eligibility to 50 years and pack years to 20 [12,13]. The recommendation was made following a systematic review of the lung cancer screening literature comprised of 223 publications that included 7 randomized clinical trials [14]. New guidelines are estimated to have doubled the population eligible for lung cancer screening in the United States and, importantly, will increase the number of women, underrepresented minorities, and those of lower socioeconomic status who qualify for this life-saving examination [15,16].