Reconsidering lung cancer screening: is biannual screening possible?

The results of the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) (1) have catalyzed an important change in lung cancer detection and management procedures in some countries, particularly the USA. After three screening rounds and an approximately 7-year follow-up, this study was the first to demonstrate that low dose computed tomography (LDCT) could reduce lung cancer mortality by 16% (2) when compared to chest X-rays. No previous studies were able to demonstrate this effectiveness for different screening tests (such as X-rays, or X-rays combined with sputum cytology).