Over the last few decades, evidence is building to show the public health value of lung cancer screening by LDCT. Major trials in the USA and Europe have shown positive results:
- National Lung Screening Trial (USA) 2011: LDCT screening reduced lung cancer deaths by 20% compared to chest X-rays.
- NELSON Trial (Belgium and the Netherlands) 2020: LDCT screening reduced lung cancer deaths by 24% in high-risk men after 10 years.
Smaller European trials have also confirmed a reduction in lung cancer mortality due to screening:
- Multicentric Italian Lung Detection (MILD) trial 2013: a 39% reduced risk of LC mortality at 10years.
- The German Lung cancer Screening Intervention (LUSI): LDCT screening may significantly reduce lung cancer mortality in women.
- The SUMMIT trial: large-scale LDCT is effective and can be delivered efficiently to an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse population.
In late 2022, the European Council updated its cancer screening recommendations to include lung cancer for the first time. Based on the results of scientific evidence, the Council encouraged all European countries to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of lung cancer screening using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT). This marked a major step forward in early detection efforts across the continent.