Survival of Patients with Stage I Lung Cancer Detected on CT Screening

More than 30,000 participants were enrolled in a screening program for lung cancer based on spiral computed tomography. Stage I lung cancer was detected in 412 participants; their estimated 10-year survival rate after surgical resection was almost 90%. In a screening program for lung cancer based on spiral CT, stage I lung cancer was detected in 412 of 30,000 participants; their estimated 10-year survival rate after surgical resection was almost 90%. In 1993, the Early Lung Cancer Action Project (ELCAP) initiated a study of the early diagnosis of lung cancer in cigarette smokers with the use of annual screening with spiral computed tomography (CT). 1 , 2 The principal finding was that more than 80% of persons given a diagnosis of lung cancer as a result of annual CT screening had clinical stage I cancer. 3 This result has been confirmed by others 4 who have adopted the updated protocol. 5 , 6 The question remains, however, whether early intervention in such patients is sufficiently effective to justify screening large asymptomatic populations who are at risk for . . .