Implementation of Lung Cancer Screening in the United States: Changing Trends Based on a Survey of Society of Thoracic Radiology Members

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine whether practices and protocols regarding low-dose CT (LDCT) screening for lung cancer have changed among Society of Thoracic Radiology (STR) members after the recent release of recommendations in favor of LDCT screening by organizations such as the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).

Materials and methods: We administered an online survey to members of the STR in 2013, before the release of the USPSTF recommendations, to determine the availability and attributes of screening programs at their institutions. Here we report results of a follow-up survey conducted using the same protocols but distributed in November 2014, after the release of the guidelines. We filtered returned surveys such that each institution was represented only once in the data.

Results: Of the 75 unique institutions represented in the 2014 survey, 62 (83%) had an active screening program, compared with 66% of institutions in the original 2013 survey. In addition, approximately half of the institutions reported >50 patients screened in the 12 months before administration of the 2014 survey compared with 28% in 2013. In 2014, most institutions without an active screening program were considering implementing one.

Conclusions: Our follow-up survey showed several trends in the utilization of LDCT screening for lung cancer between 2013 and 2014: in 2014, an increased number of sites had active screening programs, increased numbers of patients were screened, and there was greater integration of smoking cessation counseling as part of the screening programs at individual institutions.