Potential Complications of Lung Cancer Screening: “License to Smoke”
Multiple prospective and retrospective research studies have looked at the question of whether people who smoke decide not to quit smoking, because CT screening will prevent them from dying from lung cancer. There is general agreement that there is no evidence that quit rates are lower in individuals participating in CT screening.
There is no evidence that screened individuals who have quit resume smoking after beginning screening.
There is some evidence that CT screening represents a window of opportunity to initiate smoking cessation efforts.
It is generally agreed, that centers of excellence in lung cancer screening will
ASK and record the smoking history of CT screening participants and evaluate willingness to try to quit
ADVISE them to quit
ASSIST them by offering participation in a smoking cessation program in conjunction with screening
AUDIT smoking cessation status at the next screening appointment
If a person undergoing screening is able to quit smoking, he or she will derive a further benefit i.e. that further damage to lungs, heart and blood vessels will stop immediately and that risk of progressive disease in these body organs as well as risk of cancer in the mouth and throat, lungs, esophagus and bladder will diminish progressively over time, compared with those who continue to smoke.
Potential complications of lung cancer screening: Inconvenience