TOPLINE:
A study found that among US adults eligible for lung cancer screening (LCS), the uptake of colorectal cancer (CRC) and breast cancer screening was nearly fourfold higher than LCS. Among those who had never undergone LCS, approximately 60% participated in other cancer screenings — indicating they are reachable and open to preventive health services.
METHODOLOGY:
- Despite recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force, LCS remains underused. This study aimed to explore whether individuals eligible for LCS also access other preventive services.
- This analysis included 212,393 participants aged 50-79 years from the 2022 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System dataset. Of these, 28,483 individuals (weighted population, 13,168,937) met the criteria for LCS eligibility.
- Participants were classified into two groups — participants eligible for both lung and breast cancer screening (n = 11,147) and those eligible for both lung cancer and CRC screening (n = 24,172).
- The researchers calculated national estimates of preventive healthcare service use.
TAKEAWAY:
- In the lung/breast cancer cohort, 65.0% underwent breast cancer screening, whereas only 17.0% had LCS. In the lung/CRC cohort, 64.7% completed CRC screening compared with 17.5% who underwent LCS.
- Among those eligible for LCS who had never been screened, 60.2% had breast cancer screening and 58.7% completed CRC screening.
- The uptake of CRC and breast cancer screening was at least threefold higher than that of LCS across nearly all sociodemographic subgroups.
- Participants eligible for LCS were less likely to undergo breast cancer and CRC screening than those who were ineligible.
IN PRACTICE:
“These findings suggest that many people eligible for LCS are accessible to outreach and receptive to receiving preventive healthcare services. The results highlight the need for interventions to increase awareness about LCS and to reduce barriers — including difficulties assessing LCS eligibility (due to the use of age and multiple smoking history requirements) and challenges accessing LCS clinics — that prevent individuals from undergoing screening,” the authors wrote.
SOURCE:
This study was led by Alexandra L. Potter, BS, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and was published online in JAMA.
LIMITATIONS:
This study limitations included self-reported data for preventive healthcare use and lack of information on specific barriers to LCS.
DISCLOSURES:
This study was supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. One author reported being on the board of the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative. Another author disclosed receiving personal fees from AstraZeneca and Genentech outside the submitted work and being the founder and chair of the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative. No other disclosures were reported.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.