Clinical guideline
The American Association for Thoracic Surgery guidelines for lung cancer screening using low-dose computed tomography scans for lung cancer survivors and other high-risk groups

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcvs.2012.05.060Get rights and content
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Objective

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in North America. Low-dose computed tomography screening can reduce lung cancer–specific mortality by 20%.

Method

The American Association for Thoracic Surgery created a multispecialty task force to create screening guidelines for groups at high risk of developing lung cancer and survivors of previous lung cancer.

Results

The American Association for Thoracic Surgery guidelines call for annual lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography screening for North Americans from age 55 to 79 years with a 30 pack-year history of smoking. Long-term lung cancer survivors should have annual low-dose computed tomography to detect second primary lung cancer until the age of 79 years. Annual low-dose computed tomography lung cancer screening should be offered starting at age 50 years with a 20 pack-year history if there is an additional cumulative risk of developing lung cancer of 5% or greater over the following 5 years. Lung cancer screening requires participation by a subspecialty-qualified team. The American Association for Thoracic Surgery will continue engagement with other specialty societies to refine future screening guidelines.

Conclusions

The American Association for Thoracic Surgery provides specific guidelines for lung cancer screening in North America.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

AATS
American Association for Thoracic Surgery
CT
computed tomography
CXR
chest x-ray
FEV1
forced expiratory volume in 1 second
IASLC
International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
LDCT
low-dose computed tomography
NLST
National Lung Screening Trial

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Disclosures: Michael T. Jaklitsch, John H. M. Austin, Reginald F. Munden, Gary M. Strauss, William D. Travis, and David J. Sugarbaker have no commercial interests to disclose. Francine L. Jacobson reports grant funding from Toshiba. John K. Field reports advisory board member work for Epigenomics and Roche Diagnostics. James R. Jett reports grant research support from Oncimmune and Metabolomx. Shaf Keshavjee reports grant research support from Astellas Canada and Axela/Exceed, clinical trial support from Vitrolife, and being awarded a Wyeth Pharmaceuticals/CIHR Rx&D Clinical Research Chair in Transplantation. Heber MacMahon reports advisory board member and consultant work for Riverain Medical, consultant work for Biomet, and royalties from UC Tech (University of Chicago). James L. Mulshine reports a family member who is an employee of Accretive Health. Ravi Salgia reports advisory board member work for Cephalon and Methylgene, and research funding from Eli Lilly. Scott J. Swanson reports consulting fees for Ethicon and Covidien.