Lung Cancer Screening: Do You Need An Annual Low-Dose CT Scan?

Lung cancer can remain silent for a long time. By the time symptoms such as persistent cough, breathlessness, chest pain or unexplained weight loss appear, the disease may have already progressed.

Screening aims to detect lung cancer before symptoms develop, but doctors recommend it only for people who meet specific risk criteria.

Dr Tejinder Kataria, Chairperson – Radiation Oncology, Medanta Hospital, Gurugram, said people aged 50 to 80 who currently smoke or previously smoked and have a 20 pack-year history should consider an annual low-dose CT (LDCT) scan.

A pack-year measures smoking exposure over time.

Smoking one pack a day for 20 years equals 20 pack-years, as does smoking two packs daily for 10 years.

The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual LDCT screening for adults aged 50 to 80 with at least 20 pack-years who currently smoke or quit within the previous 15 years.

Unlike a routine chest X-ray, LDCT provides detailed images of the lungs while using less radiation than a standard diagnostic CT scan.

Dr Kataria said LDCT can detect tiny lung tumours before symptoms appear, but abnormal scans do not always indicate cancer.

Dr Vikas Mittal noted that pollution, workplace exposure and genetics can raise lung cancer risk among non-smokers, though routine LDCT screening is not recommended for everyone.

Persistent cough, breathlessness or unexplained weight loss should prompt a medical check-up.

Family history, chest radiation, asbestos exposure, pollution and lung conditions may raise risk.

Smokers should remember that screening does not replace quitting, which remains key to reducing lung cancer risk.

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