Dear AuntMinnie Member,
When a group of medical societies issued guidelines for CT lung screening last month, it seemed at first to be a victory for screening's backers.
But it didn't take long to realize that the new guidelines would recommend screening only for those at highest risk of lung cancer. Screening proponents were soon crying foul. We bring you their criticisms of the new guidelines in two articles by international editor Eric Barnes in our CT Digital Community.
At the top of the list is the issue of what happens to individuals who are still at elevated risk of lung cancer, but who might not meet the eligibility criteria set by the new guidelines: age 55 to 74 with a smoking history of 30 pack-years or more. What about someone who has smoked for 20 years? Or someone with a history of cancer, a family history of the disease, or other risk factors such as emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?
Lung screening proponents are also disputing the methodology used by the societies, such as their exclusion of data from the landmark International Early Lung Cancer Action Project (I-ELCAP) study, where CT lung screening fared well from an outcomes standpoint.
Learn about the objections to the science in part 1 of the series, while part 2 discusses what might happen to those who aren't covered under the guidelines.
Pediatric CT dose
Also in the CT Digital Community is an article on a new study in the Lancet, in which a multinational team of researchers found that the radiation dose from just two or three brain CT scans in childhood could lead to an elevated risk of leukemia and brain cancer later in life.
Researchers from the U.K. Department of Health and the U.S. National Institutes of Health tracked outcomes from radiation exposure in nearly 180,000 patients who received CT scans in the U.K. between 1985 and 2002, and linked them with cancer incidence and mortality reports in the country's national health registry. They found that cancer incidence risk increased per mGy of radiation exposure.
The findings support ongoing efforts to reduce pediatric radiation dose, and indicate that even small reductions in dose can have benefits down the road. Read more by clicking here, or visit the CT Digital Community at ct.auntminnie.com.
Report from SIIM
Finally, the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) meeting opened today in Orlando, FL. AuntMinnie.com staff writers Erik L. Ridley and Cynthia E. Keen are on hand, covering the proceedings for our PACS and Healthcare IT Digital Communities.
Leading our coverage is an article about today's opening session, which featured a discussion on how members of the Millennial Generation view imaging informatics. The same generation that developed Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter is also spearheading changes in radiology.
Find out about some of the biggest changes to come by clicking here, or visit our PACS Digital Community at pacs.auntminnie.com. And for up-to-the-minute updates from the SIIM show, follow our Twitter feed by clicking here.
