Clinical practice patterns in laryngeal cancer and introduction of CT lung screening

After the publication of large clinical trials, in January 2014 The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended annual lung cancer screening with low-dose CT in a well-defined group of high-risk smokers. A significant proportion of patients with laryngeal cancer (LC) meet the introduced criteria, and we hypothesized that clinical practice would change as a result of these evidence-based guidelines.

Retrospective chart review of patients diagnosed with LC and treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital who met USPSTF criteria for annual chest screening and were followed for at least 3 consecutive years in the years surrounding the introduction of screening guidelines (January 2010 to December 2017) was performed to identify those who had recommended screening CT chest.

A total of 151 patients met the inclusion criteria of the study and were followed for a total of 746 patient-years. 184/332 (55%) patient-years in the pre-guidelines period and 246/414 (59%) in the post-guidelines period included at least one recommended chest imaging (CT or PET-CT; p = 0.27). 248/332 (75%) patient-years in the pre-guidelines period and 314/414 (76%) in the post-guidelines period included any radiological chest imaging (X-ray, CT or PET-CT; p = 0.72). Screening scans were ordered by OHNS (45%), Medical Oncology (31%), Radiation Oncology (8%), and primary care (14%) with 70% of patients missing at least one year of indicated screening.

The implementation of new lung cancer screening guidelines did not change clinical practice in the management of patients with LC and many patients do not receive recommended screening. Further study concerning potential barriers to effective evidence-based screening and coordination of care is warranted.