Lung Cancer Screening Practices in North Carolina CT Facilities

The burden of lung cancer in the United States is staggering, with more Americans dying from lung cancer than the next four most common cancers combined. With endorsement of lung cancer screening by the United States Preventive Services Task Force and reimbursement by CMS, the number screened for lung cancer with low-dose CT (LDCT) is anticipated to rise in the near future.

In 2015, we conducted a cross-sectional study of mailed surveys to 112 ACR CT facilities across North Carolina to examine recommended guidelines for lung cancer screening, referral patterns, and patient tracking methods. We describe the survey results and compare findings with surveys of academic medical centers.

Among 48 respondents (response rate = 42.9%), 54.2% offer lung cancer screening with LDCT (93.1% community and 6.9% academic settings); of these, 70.8% use ACR/CMS guidelines. In lung cancer screening facilities, reported patient volumes are low (average eight patients screened per month, range: 0-30) and patient tracking occurs in 72% of facilities.

Among our predominately community-based sample of facilities, we found variation in lung cancer screening guideline usage, number of patients screened, and tracking methods.