New lung cancer screening guidelines will likely increase eligibility by nearly 54 percent. increasing the overall proportion of women, racial and ethnic minority groups, and individuals with lower socioeconomic status, according to new research by Kaiser Permanente. The new guidelines are also projected to lead to an estimated 30 percent increase in lung cancer diagnoses compared with the previous guidelines.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released its updated lung cancer screening recommendations in March 2021, lowering the screening age from 55 to 50 years and smoking history from 30 to 20 pack-years.
The study led by Debra Ritzwoller (above) analyzed data from more than 340,000 individuals from five diverse community-based health systems who received care between 2010 and 2019.
The new guidelines would have increased eligibility for screening by 70% for Blacks, 67% for Hispanics, 61% for Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders, and by 49 for Whites.
- See “Expanded lung screening rules provide more equitable care” on the Kaiser Permanente website (October 12, 2021)
- See the full text of the scientific paper “Evaluation of Population-Level Changes Associated With the 2021 US Preventive Services Task Force Lung Cancer Screening Recommendations in Community-Based Health Care Systems” by Debra P. Ritzwoller et al.
