SPIRAL LOW DOSE CT SCAN BEATS X RAY FOR FINDING LUNG CANCER A STUDY AND A VIDEO

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Sixty percent of the hospitals in the United States own a spiral CT machine. Doctors had wanted to know do Spiral CT Scans Find Lung Cancer Sooner Than Chest X Rays? The answer is apparently yes!

Scared is what people are when they hear the words lung cancer. It is shocking and stunning when I go to certain well known national pharmacy chains and lo and behold what are they selling? Why it's cigarettes!! I don't know how they can explain that to themselves or their customers but anyway. Even though the rate of heavy smoking continues to decline in the United States,94 million current or former smokers remain at elevated risk for the disease,and lung cancer remains the leading cause of death from cancer in this country..Sixty percent of the hospitals in the United States own a spiral CT machine. These machines are routinely used for staging lung and other cancers to determine how advanced the cancer is after diagnosis. Doctors had wanted to know do Spiral CT Scans Find Lung Cancer Sooner Than Chest X Rays? The answer is apparently yes!



In October 2010, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) announced that patients who were randomly assigned to screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT) had fewer deaths from lung cancer than did patients randomly assigned to screening with chest x rays












In the National Lung Screening Trial there was a 20.0% decrease in mortality from lung cancer observed in the low-dose (spiral) CT group as compared with the x ray group. The rate of positive results was higher with low-dose CT screening than with radiographic screening by a factor of more than 3, and low-dose CT screening was associated with a high rate of false positive results (where they see something that turns out not to be cancer).

Watch Video About Lung Cancer Screening with Spiral CT Scan

What did the National Lung Screening Trial Find Out?

"Several observational studies have shown that low-dose helical CT of the lung detects more nodules and lung cancers, including early-stage cancers, than does chest radiography. Therefore, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded the National Lung Screening Trial, a randomized trial, to determine whether screening with low-dose CT, as compared with chest radiography, would reduce mortality from lung cancer among high-risk persons. In a nutshell they found IT DID!!

What did the Comparison Study of 53,454 persons Spiral CT Scan and Chest X ray and Lung Cancer Do?

People who were cigarette smokers past or present, between 55 and 74 years of age at the start of the study were selected for a comparison. They were divided into two groups. A total of 53,454 persons were enrolled; 26,722 were randomly assigned to screening with low-dose CT and 26,732 to screening with chest x rays. They all had a history of cigarette smoking of at least 30 pack-years, and, if former smokers, had quit within the previous 15 years. But people who had previously received a diagnosis of lung cancer, had undergone chest CT within 18 months before enrollment, had coughed up blood or had an unexplained weight loss of more than 15 pounds in the preceding year were excluded.

Reduced Lung-Cancer Mortality with Low-Dose Computed Tomographic Screening

Spiral CT Scans for Lung Cancer Screening: Fact Sheet




"Sixty percent of the hospitals in the United States own a spiral CT machine. These machines are routinely used for staging lung and other cancers to determine how advanced the cancer is after diagnosis. Each scan costs $300 to $1,000.

What is a Spiral CT Scan?

A spiral CT (aka helical CT) technique involves continuous movement of the patient through the scanner with the ability to scan faster and with higher definition of internal structures. Spiral CAT scanning can permit greater visualization of blood vessels and internal tissues, such as those within the chest cavity. This form of scanner may be particularly helpful in the rapid evaluation of severe trauma injuries, such as those sustained in automobile accidents.