A combination of two kinds of scan is effective in early diagnosis of lung cancer in those at risk.

Lung cancer causes more deaths worldwide than any other cancer. Five year survival is only about ten per cent in Europe because the disease is so often not detected until it is too late. So early detection is important.

Researchers at the European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy, have been looking at the effectiveness of spiral computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET) in the detection of lung cancer at an early stage. They looked at 1,000 heavy smokers - an at-risk population - 50 years or older and offered them CT each year, together with PET in some cases. This went on for five years. If a lesion less than five millimeters was found, the CT was repeated the next year. Larger lesions were investigated.

This regime led to the discovery of 22 cases of lung cancer, the majority of which were confirmed by PET. Removal of malignant tissue was achieved in 95 per cent of cases. The study is an important contribution to the debate over whether large-scale screening for lung cancer among those at risk is justified.

Source

The Lancet 23rd August 2003