Dear AuntMinnie Member,
CT screening is one of the most controversial topics in medical imaging. Critics charge that widespread screening is a tool of limited clinical value that contributes to rising healthcare costs, fearful patients, and even higher morbidity.
But could some CT screening applications, targeted at specific at-risk patient groups, be clinically viable and cost-effective ways of detecting early disease and saving lives? That's the premise behind the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP), an ongoing multicenter clinical trial to investigate CT screening's role in detecting lung cancer.
In this week's AuntMinnieTV segment, we cover data presented by lead I-ELCAP researcher Dr. Claudia Henschke of New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Henschke presents I-ELCAP data showing that CT lung screening can detect cancers at an early stage -- early enough to give patients a much better chance of surviving lung cancer than those who have their cancers detected later.
I-ELCAP researchers also developed a model for predicting a person's risk of developing cancer based on factors such as how much they smoked and for how long. You'll find the details by clicking here, and when you're done, be sure to check out our other AuntMinnieTV segments by following the links below.
