The Role of Biomarkers in Lung Cancer Screening

Lung Cancer Screening (LCS) is an evolving field with variations in its implementation in various countries. There are only scarce data from National LCS programs.

We aim to provide an up-to-date overview of the current evidence regarding the use of biomarkers in LCS.

A multidisciplinary Task Force experts' panel collaborated and conducted a systematic literature search, followed by screening, review and synthesis of available evidence.

Biomarkers in LCS could be used to improve risk stratification in high-risk participants, improve clarification regarding indeterminate lung nodules and avoid overdiagnosis in suspicious lung findings. Currently, there seem to be promising biomarkers (blood/serum/breath) that have been studied in various trials; however, there is still a lack of solid evidence in clinical validation that would pave the way for their integration into LCS programs.

Biomarkers are the next logical step in improving the LCS pathway and its efficiency by playing an adjuvant role in a minimally invasive way. National LCS programs and pilot studies should integrate biomarkers to validate their accuracy in real-life LCS participants.