Lung-RADS provides radiologists performing LDCT with consistency, fewer false positives

To ensure structured reporting for the clinical reporting of lung cancer screening with low-dose CT (LDCT), the American College of Radiology (ACR) introduced the Lung CT Screening Reporting and Data System (Lung-RADS). So why turn to Lung-RADS? These are two significant reasons why radiologists should use Lung-RADS, according to a study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

In addition to being recommended by the ACR, other organizations, including the American College of Chest Physicians and the American Thoracic Society, also encourage specialists to report using Lung-RADS because of its structured reporting component and consistency. 

“Compared with free-form clinical radiology reports, structured reporting has several advantages including the uniform delivery of important clinical information, clear identification of patients with imaging findings that may require management in a multidisciplinary setting, and the potential for enhanced data mining,” wrote lead author Brett W. Carter, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues.

It can also reduce the false positive rates, researchers wrote, as it was developed by the ACR Lung Cancer Screening Committee for that very goal. Researchers highlighted how Lung-RADS could potentially reduce the rate of false positives by discussing a usage of the program in a clinical lung cancer screening program.

Lung-RADS was applied to a clinical lung cancer screening program to determine the frequency of positive and false-negative incidents. The researchers found that using Lung-RADS increased the positive predictive value by 2.5 percent to 17.3 percent without increasing the number of exams with false negatives.

“Standardized reporting of findings on LDCT examinations with the associated management recommendations is a critical component of any lung cancer screening program,” the authors concluded. “It is imperative that radiologists understand and appropriately apply Lung-RADS to ensure that patients at high risk of developing lung cancer receive uniform and quality care during their baseline and follow-up LDCT examinations.”