Low-dose spiral CT scans can cut lung cancer deaths

Lung cancer deaths can be reduced by as much as 20 per cent through the use of low-dose spiral computed tomography (CT) scanning, scientists have revealed.

The study, called the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), was undertaken by University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In a clinical trial that involved more than 53,000 people over ten years, the scientists determined that current or heavy smokers screened with low-dose spiral CT scanning had a 20 percent reduction in deaths from lung cancer than did those who were screened by chest X-ray,

"These findings confirm that low dose CT screening can decrease deaths from lung cancer, which is expected to kill more than 150,000 Americans this year alone," said Dr Denise R Aberle, national principal investigator for 23 of the 33 NLST sites, researcher with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and vice chair for research in the Department of Radiological Sciences.

"This study also will provide us with a road map for public policy development in terms of lung cancer screening in the years to come," she added.