Survival in Patients Diagnosed With Lung Cancer After Low-Dose CT Screening

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Oncology
• Radiology

Background:

• Lung cancer remains a leading cause of cancer death globally.
• Lung cancer screening (LCS) aims to reduce mortality by detecting cancer earlier.
• Real-world outcomes of LCS in clinical practice require ongoing evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess survival and mortality rates in patients diagnosed with lung cancer following LCS.
• To identify patient and cancer characteristics associated with mortality after LCS.
• To compare outcomes in a clinical LCS setting with results from LCS research trials.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of patients undergoing LCS at an academic medical center.
• Inclusion criteria: LCS patients diagnosed with lung cancer between January 1, 2015, and June 30, 2021.
• Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to evaluate mortality associations.

Main Results:

• 141 lung cancer patients were included; 78.7% had screen-detected cancers.
• The five-year estimated survival rate was 53.4%.
• Higher cancer stage and non-screen-detected cancers were significantly associated with increased mortality (p<0.001).

Conclusions:

• Screen-detected lung cancers showed lower mortality compared to non-screen-detected ones.
• Overall mortality in this clinical LCS cohort was higher than reported in the National Lung Screening Trial.
• Clinical LCS outcomes may differ from those observed in research trials, highlighting the need for center-specific monitoring.