A screen for lung cancer might be the motivation some smokers need to help them quit.
Low dose fast spiral computerized tomography (CT) can give more detailed images of the lung than X-ray studies. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have been looking at the impact of CT screening on a group of 901 smokers and 574 ex-smokers and learned that 14 per cent of the smokers quit after the test. This is twice the quit rate of the general population and was achieved without counseling or medication.

However, it wasn't all good news. Around ten per cent of the former smokers went back to smoking a year after the scan. This suggests that maybe extra support around the time of the CT and afterwards would help people stay free of tobacco. Smokers with poor lung function were more likely to stop smoking after the screen. On the other hand, having a clear screen did not give a 'green light' to carry on smoking. Those with no signs of cancer still took the opportunity to give up.

At present, there are no recommendations to screen nationwide with CT for early lung cancer. Studies have not shown that screens decrease death from lung cancer. But if CT can help people quit smoking, then it will, indirectly, reduce mortality. The Mayo Clinic work in this area continues.