Rationale for the Nodule Management Protocol of the Australian National Lung Cancer Screening Program

In July 2022, the Australian Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) recommended the establishment of an Australian NLCSP (National Lung Cancer Screening Program), using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for the early detection of lung cancer in asymptomatic high-risk individuals. MSAC's recommendations for the NLCSP included core requirements as follows: (i) routine biennial screening, (ii) use of the PanCan risk prediction model for reporting baseline LDCT, and (iii) the use of the most recent version of Lung-RADS for reporting follow-up LDCT. Necessary adaptations were made to incorporate these requirements, resulting in a bespoke protocol for the Australian context. This article summarises the rationale and development of the NLCSP Nodule Management Protocol.