Examining Gender Differences in Lung Cancer Screening

It is unknown if gender influences outcome of lung cancer screening with Low Dose CT (LDCT), especially with frequent and continued underrepresentation of women in clinical trials. We examined a balanced cohort of men and women with the hypothesis that there would be no difference in participation or results between men and women undergoing lung cancer screening. In an urban, academic medical center, we prospectively collected data on patients referred for lung cancer screening from October 2015 to August 2018. We studied gender, age, ethnicity, level of education and smoking history. We measured results of LDCT using Lung-RADS reporting system. 546 patients underwent LDCT between October 2015 and August 2018. 279 (51%) were female and 267 (49%) were males. Age, education status or smoking patterns did not significantly differ between females and males There was a significant difference between males and females in the distribution of LDCT results (p = 0.05). 81 females and 105 males were diagnosed with Lung-RADS 1; 99 females and 92 males with Lung-RADS 2; 15 females and 8 males with Lung-RADS 3; 19 females and 11 males with Lung-RADS 4. Overall, 10 females (3.5%) and 3 males (1.1%) were diagnosed with lung cancer (risk difference 2.4, 95% CI-0.0006-0.05, p = 0.09). Women are often underrepresented in clinical trials. Preliminary results from our lung cancer screening program demonstrate equal participation and equal benefit from the screening program. Long term data is needed to study survival benefit.