CT Screening of People at Very High Risk for Lung Cancer

Peter Bach, an epidemiologist and a pulmonary and critical care physician, explains that physicians and researchers have been searching for a way to effectively screen for lung cancer for more than 40 years. Dr. Bach, who sees patients with lung disease and directs Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Center for Health Policy and Outcomes, discusses new findings that CT screening of very high risk people may detect lung cancer earlier and improve the effectiveness of treatment. This research, led by Dr. Bach and members of four major medical societies, has led to new CT screening recommendations for a particular group of people between 55 and 74 years old who have smoked a significant amount for many years.