Radiologists, thoracic surgeons urge CMS to make millions more eligible for lung cancer screening
Radiologists and thoracic surgeons are urging the feds to update lung cancer screening requirements, potentially making millions more Americans eligible for the lifesaving exams.
The American College of Radiology and Society of Thoracic Surgeons made their case in joint letters sent to CMS and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. They’re advocating for the removal of a requirement that individuals must have quit smoking within the past 15 years to be eligible for low-dose CT. ACR and the surgeons’ society also want officials to eliminate upper age limits on lung cancer screening.
Quashing the 15-year requirement—coupled with all individuals following updated American Cancer Society screening guidelines—would produce a 35% uptick in the number of screening-eligible individuals, up to 19.2 million. This would lead to about 21% more lives saved and 19% more life years gained, ACR et al. estimated.
“Every year, a staggering number of Americans die from a disease that is preventable, treatable and even curable,” ACR, the American Society of Thoracic Surgeons and patient advocacy group GO2 for Lung Cancer wrote on June 21. “It is important that CMS and other government agencies quickly act to remove artificial barriers for individuals who would benefit from screening,” they added later.
Lung cancer is currently the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., accounting for 1 in 5 fatalities from the Big C. About 125,000 Americans will die from the disease in 2024, according to the American Cancer Society, outpacing the combined totals from cancers of the colon, breast and prostate. Still, lung cancer screening uptake remains low.
ACR et al. are “strongly” urging CMS and the USPSTF to “expeditiously remove” the 15-years-since-quitting criterion for annual screening. They also highlighted inconsistency between the USPSTF and CMS regarding the upper age limit for lung cancer screening (80 vs. 77). Radiologists and thoracic surgeons want federal agencies to remove this ceiling, noting that “cancer risk continues to increase with advancing age.”
“Our joint societies applaud CMS for expanding the lung cancer screening eligibility criteria in 2022,” the letter concluded. “We strongly recommend and support an expedited and prioritized [national coverage determination] to remove specific screening eligibility criteria that remain a barrier to individuals at high risk for lung cancer. These changes would align with the current and compelling evidence-based guidelines from the [American Cancer Society] and [National Comprehensive Care Network].”
You can find links to both letters and a June 27 summary of the situation from ACR here.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.