Final recommendations on lung cancer screening

Embargoed news from Annals of Intenral Medicine

2013-12-31

(Press-News.org) Contact information: Angela Collom
acollom@acponline.org
215-351-2653
American College of Physicians
Final recommendations on lung cancer screening Embargoed news from Annals of Intenral Medicine Final word: Task Force says screen high-risk populations for lung cancer

High-risk adults between the ages of 55 and 80 should receive annual lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography, according to final recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force being published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Heavy smokers or former heavy smokers who have quit within the past 15 years are considered high risk. Smoking is responsible for about 85 percent of lung cancers in the United States. The risk for developing lung cancer also increases with age, with most lung cancers occurring in people age 55 or older. The recommendation is based on comprehensive review of the evidence and the results of modeling studies predicting the benefits and harms of screening programs based on different screening intervals, age ranges, smoking histories, and time since quitting. The full recommendation is free to the public and can be viewed at http://www.annals.org/article.aspx?doi=10.7326/M13-2771. The comparative modeling study can be viewed at http://www.annals.org/article.aspx?doi=10.7326/M13-2316.

Two commentaries accompany the Task Force recommendations. In the first, the author commends the comprehensive and unbiased evidence reviews that underlie Task Force recommendations but expresses concern about the Task Force's reliance on modeling data to fill evidence gaps, especially with regard to the lung cancer screening recommendations. The authors of a second editorial describe some of the practical issues associated with putting the Task Force recommendations into practice. Of most concern, how patient selection actually occurs is not addressed in the guidelines. Patients who are interested or should consider CT screening for lung cancer will need to be counseled and referred. The authors wonder if primary care providers have the tools necessary to do this and if the health care system will be willing to support it.

### END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Climate change spurs tropical mangroves to expand in the north

2013-12-31

Climate change spurs tropical mangroves to expand in the north As mangrove trees lose ground to deforestation and urban sprawl, one development seems to be giving them a boost: climate change. Fewer winter cold snaps have enabled them to conquer new territory around their northern ...

Mangroves expand north as Florida freezes decline

2013-12-31

Mangroves expand north as Florida freezes decline Mangrove forests have been expanding northward along the Atlantic coast of Florida for the last few decades not because of a general warming trend, but likely because cold snaps there are becoming a thing of the ...

With few hard frosts, tropical mangroves push north

2013-12-31

With few hard frosts, tropical mangroves push north N Florida coast transformed by extreme weather change, not overall warming COLLEGE PARK, MD – Cold-sensitive mangrove forests have expanded dramatically along Florida's Atlantic Coast as the frequency of killing frosts ...

Minority physicians care for a majority of underserved patients in the US

2013-12-31

Minority physicians care for a majority of underserved patients in the US Minority physicians also play a large role in the care of patients with poorer health, according to a new study in JAMA Internal Medicine CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Black, Hispanic and Asian ...

Conversations on sex lacking between doctors and teens

2013-12-31

Conversations on sex lacking between doctors and teens DURHAM, N.C. – Doctors are missing a prime opportunity to share information about sex with their teenage patients by failing to broach the subject during checkups, according to researchers ...

High good and low bad cholesterol levels are healthy for the brain, too

2013-12-31

High good and low bad cholesterol levels are healthy for the brain, too (SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- High levels of "good" cholesterol and low levels of "bad" cholesterol are correlated with lower levels of the amyloid plaque deposition ...

Field trial with lignin modified poplars shows potential for bio-based economy

2013-12-31

Field trial with lignin modified poplars shows potential for bio-based economy But work still needs to be done The results of a field trial with genetically modified poplar trees in Zwijnaarde, Belgium, shows that the wood of lignin ...

Most clinical studies on vitamins flawed by poor methodology

2013-12-31

Most clinical studies on vitamins flawed by poor methodology CORVALLIS, Ore. – Most large, clinical trials of vitamin supplements, including some that have concluded they are of no value or even harmful, have a flawed methodology that renders them largely ...

Molecular evolution of genetic sex-determination switch in honeybees

2013-12-31

Molecular evolution of genetic sex-determination switch in honeybees 5 amino acid differences separate males from females It's taken nearly 200 years, but scientists in Arizona and Europe have teased out how the molecular switch for sex gradually ...

Medicaid beneficiaries use emergency services due to lack of alternatives

2013-12-31

Medicaid beneficiaries use emergency services due to lack of alternatives AURORA, Colo. (Dec. 30, 2013) – A study from the University of Colorado School of Medicine shows patients with Medicaid insurance seeking care in an emergency department may be ...