Changes in Staging and Management of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Patients Following the Implementation of Low-Dose Chest Computed Tomography (LDCT) Screening at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital

Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) has been widely adopted for lung cancer screening due to its proven ability to reduce lung cancer mortality, especially among high-risk populations.

This retrospective study aims to evaluate the impact of LDCT screening on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) staging at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital (KMUH) from 2011 to 2020, following the introduction of LDCT in 2013. The study examines the correlation between LDCT screening volume and changes in the distribution of NSCLC stages, particularly early-stage (stages 0 and I) and late-stage (stage IV) diagnoses. Additionally, it explores the differences in histopathological subtypes, focusing on adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, and assesses the impact of early detection on five-year survival rates.

The results show a significant increase in early-stage NSCLC diagnoses, particularly in adenocarcinoma cases, where early-stage diagnoses rose from 10.4% in 2010 to 38.7% in 2019. However, the number of stage IV cases remained stable, indicating that LDCT may not substantially reduce late-stage diagnoses. Pearson's correlation analysis demonstrated a strong positive correlation between LDCT screening and early-stage NSCLC detection, particularly for adenocarcinoma (p < 0.001), though the early detection of squamous cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma remained limited.

The study concludes that LDCT screening plays a crucial role in improving early NSCLC detection and five-year survival rates. Future research should focus on optimizing screening strategies to capture more at-risk populations and enhance the detection of harder-to-diagnose subtypes like squamous cell carcinoma.