New lung cancer screening guidelines have been released by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care. The guidelines take into account the latest evidence and aim to balance the benefits of early detection against the harms caused by overdiagnosis and invasive testing.
The new guidelines recommend annual CT scans for adults aged 55-74 years who are at a high risk of lung cancer (current or former smokers who quit within 15 years). Screening is actively discouraged in other adults regardless of their age or smoking history.
Additionally the new guidelines recommend not using chest x-rays to screen for lung cancer.
Original research paper published in the CMAJ on March 7, 2015.
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