Lung cancer screening

Low-dose computed tomography screening for lung cancer is a hotly debated topic and has been fueled by widespread media coverage. This article will summarize smoking prevalence in women and review lung cancer screening trials, past and present. In addition, the principles of screening and confounding biases will be addressed. Results from some of these trials have raised concerns regarding overdiagnosis and the high rate of false positive findings. The National Lung Screening Trial, a randomized controlled trial sponsored by the National Cancer Institute at an estimated cost of $200 million, is underway to evaluate the effect of computed tomography screening on lung cancer-specific mortality.