CHEST issues updated expert guidelines for lung cancer screening:

"The goal of these guidelines is to assist stakeholders with the development of high-quality screening programs and arm clinical providers with the information necessary to engage at-risk individuals in order to increase the number of screenings," says lead author Peter Mazzone, MD, MPH, FCCP. "Outlined in the recommendations is who should be screened and what that screening process should look like from the clinical side. For an individual patient, these guidelines highlight the importance of education to foster informed, value-based decisions about whether to be screened."

Of the 16 recommendations, the guidelines presented in the report include the following:

· For asymptomatic individuals aged 50 to 80 who have smoked 20 pack-years or more and either continue to smoke or have quit within the past 15 years, we recommend that annual screening with low-dose CT should be offered.

· We suggest that low-dose CT screening programs develop strategies to maximize compliance with annual screening exams and evaluation of screen-detected findings.

· For individuals who currently smoke and are undergoing low-dose CT screening, we recommend that screening programs provide evidence-based tobacco cessation treatment as recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service.

One of the requirements for Medicare coverage of lung cancer screening is that a beneficiary has a lung cancer screening counseling and shared decision-making (SDM) visit. The goal of shared decision-making is to inform individuals about the tradeoffs of screening vs. no screening and to help them make a choice that is aligned with their preferences and values.

Reference:

The study titled, "Screening for Lung Cancer: CHEST Guideline and Expert Panel Report," is published in the journal Chest.