Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Lung cancer

Low-dose CT screening — determining the right interval

Annual thoracic CT screening is currently recommended for individuals deemed to be at high risk of developing lung cancer; however, Patz and co-workers now raise the very important question of choosing the optimal interval between screening exams, in order to balance the potential benefits and harms associated with each round of CT. Herein, we present important considerations for determining such intervals.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. [No authors listed] Lung cancer: screening. US Preventive Services Task Force http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/UpdateSummaryFinal/lung-cancer-screening (2015).

  2. Patz, E. F. et al. Lung cancer incidence and mortality in National Lung Screening Trial participants who underwent low-dose CT prevalence screening: a retrospective cohort analysis of a randomised, multicentre, diagnostic screening trial. Lancet Oncol. 17, 590–599 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Aberle, D. R. et al. Reduced lung-cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomographic screening. N. Engl. J. Med. 365, 395–409 (2011).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Henschke, C. I. et al. Lung cancers diagnosed at annual CT screening: volume doubling times. Radiology 263, 578–583 (2012).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Yankelevitz, D. F. & Smith, J. P. Understanding the core result of the National Lung Screening Trial. N. Engl. J. Med. 368, 1460–1461 (2013).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Miettinen, O. S. et al. Mammographic screening: no reliable supporting evidence? Lancet 359, 404–405 (2002).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Claudia Henschke.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

D.Y. is a named inventor on a number of patents and patent applications relating to the evaluation of diseases of the chest, including measurement of nodules. Some of these, which are owned by Cornell Research Foundation (CRF) are non-exclusively licensed to General Electric. As an inventor on these patents, D.Y. is entitled to a share of any compensation that CRF might receive from the commercialization of these patents. D.Y. is also an equity owner in Accumetra, a privately held technology company committed to improving the science and practice of image-based decision making. C.H. is a named inventor on a number of patents and patent applications relating to the evaluation of pulmonary nodules on CT scans of the chest, which are owned by CRF, but does not accept any financial benefit from these patents, including royalties and any other proceeds related to the patents or patent applications owned by CRF, since 2009.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yankelevitz, D., Henschke, C. Low-dose CT screening — determining the right interval. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 13, 533–534 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2016.106

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2016.106

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Cancer

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Cancer newsletter — what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Cancer