Towards systematic screening for lung cancer in heavy smokers?

Should systematic screening for lung cancer be introduced for all heavy smokers? This is in any case what many experts (oncologists and pneumologists especially) who call the health authorities. This is already done in the United States, but not in France; the High Authority for Health (HAS) has also rendered an unfavorable opinion on this subject in 2016. However, a major European study shows a real benefit of this scanner screening on heavy smokers.

Earlier detection What this large study shows, which has still reached more than 15 000 patients followed for 10 years, is that if we pbad a scanner to all heavy smokers over 50 years, is reduced by 26% deaths due to lung cancer in men and 40% in women. Clearly, we will detect cancers, but at earlier stages. This can really change the prognosis, says Professor Charles Marquette, head of the department of pneumology of the University Hospital of Nice.

"If we want to give a simple figure, three quarters of lung cancers are discovered at a late stage now, we can not operate them, it is too late," he says. "When we scan by scanner the figure is exactly the opposite: three quarters of cancers are discovered at an early stage, we can operate, and thus cure," says the doctor. "So we completely reverse the proportion by a review that does not hurt, which is not toxic, which is a simple scan of the chest," he concludes.

Save 7,500 lives. And to convince the health authorities to implement this systematic screening at age 50 in people who have at least smoked 25 years, these experts made the calculation. Based on this study, screening for lung cancer by CT could save at least 7500 lives a year in France.