[Lung cancer screening--what now?].

BACKGROUND

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in developed countries. Because of the lack of efficient diagnostic tools for early detection and of efficient treatment for advanced disease, the prognosis of lung cancer is generally poor, with 10-15% surviving 5 years after diagnosis. Still, the majority of patients present with advanced disease. Stage IV disease is beyond cure and stage III disease is rarely curable with current therapies. Over the course of the last decade, rapid advances in molecular biology, pathology, bronchoscopy and radiology have provided a rational basis for earlier diagnosis and improved outcome.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This article reviews recent advances in the early detection of lung cancer by low-dose spiral CT scanning. The review is based on a literature search in Medline and data presented at the 3rd International Conference on Screening for Lung Cancer in New York in October 2000.

RESULTS

The most promising advent has been the development of low-dose spiral CT as a screening tool for lung cancer. The advantage of this method is the possibility of diagnosing small peripheral tumours before they have spread to regional or distant areas.

INTERPRETATION

A shift in the therapeutic paradigm from targeting clinically manifest advanced lung cancer towards asymptomatic preinvasive and early invasive cancer is occurring. If the altered stage distribution (87% stage I) as seen in three non-randomized population-based studies is real, CT screening may raise the lung cancer cure rate above 60%.