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Lung Cancer Screening

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men and women in the United States. Clinical trials have shown that lung cancer screenings with low-dose CT can find lung cancer at an early stage and reduce lung cancer deaths.

For people 50 to 80 years old with 20 or more pack-years smoking history and who currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years, chest CT without intravenous contrast (an imaging test done with a lower radiation dose) is usually appropriate. Twenty pack-years is smoking one pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years, two packs a day for 10 years, and so on.

There are no imaging tests recommended for people younger than 50 years, regardless of their smoking history, and people of any age with a less than 20 pack-year smoking history, even if they have other risk factors. These risk factors include radon exposure, occupational exposure to cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens), having been diagnosed with cancer, having a family history of lung cancer, having been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or with pulmonary fibrosis.

For more information, visit the Lung Cancer and Lung Cancer Screening pages.

— By Rachael Newman and Nina Vincoff, MD. This information originally appeared in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

This page was reviewed on January 24, 2024

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