KENDALL, Fla. – While low dose CT lung screenings are now recommended for people aged 50 to 80 who smoked 20 years or more, data from an annual report by the American Lung Association found that many who could benefit are not getting screened.
“So, for every 100 patients who meet the criteria for screening, only four-point five percent are being screened in the state of Florida, that number is even lower, only two-point four percent, so we are 42nd in the country. We also know that patients of minority origins also tend to have a lower screening rate so the rate for Hispanics is around only two percent so there’s a lot for us to improve lung cancer screening not only in the state of Florida but nationally,” said Dr. Manmeet Ahluwalia, Chief of Medical Oncology with Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute.
He said greater education efforts need to focus on primary care physicians to help identify patients who could benefit from screening.