Lung Cancer and CT Lung Cancer Screening This question-and-answer guide will help you understand the test and let you know what to expect before, during and after the procedure. Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) has been at the forefront of CT scanning since its introduction. In fact, BWH had the first state-approved body CT scanner and has been performing CT scans since 1977. BWH now possesses four state-of-the-art CT scanners, each of which can perform "spiral" CT, giving the latest technology for the best patient care. Frequently Asked Questions What is Lung cancer? Am I at risk of getting lung cancer? What should I do to prevent lung cancer? What is low-dose CT Lung Cancer Screening and should I get it? Other Investigational CT Scan Procedures:  CT Scan: A Guide for Patients (homepage)  Colon Cancer and CT Colonoscopy  CT Imaging of the Heart and Coronary Calcium Screening 1. What is lung cancer? return to the top Lung cancer is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the lungs. These abnormal cells are often grouped together in tumors. The cells can destroy normal, healthy tissue and can affect the way an organ functions. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Every year, lung cancer kills more people than breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer combined. Today, substantially more women die from lung cancer that from breast cancer. It is firmly established that the vast majority of lung cancers are caused by smoking cigarettes. Another important risk factor is exposure to asbestos fibers. Unfortunately, lung cancer is usually detected late in the course of the disease. When the first symptoms occur, such as a cough, the cancer has often already grown to an advanced stage and can rarely be cured.
2. Am I at risk of getting lung cancer? return to the top The main risk factor for getting lung cancer is exposure to cigarette smoke. There is no “safe” number of cigarettes—no “lower limit” on the number you can smoke each day and not be at risk of getting lung cancer. It is known that smoking more than 20 cigarettes (a standard pack) per day for 10 years substantially increases your risk of developing lung cancer. It is currently debated whether inhaling second-hand smoke from others puts you at a higher risk of developing lung cancer. The other major risk factor is asbestos exposure. Asbestos is a noncombustible material that was once used very commonly in fireproofing, electrical insulation, building materials, brake linings, and chemical filters. Most exposure is work-related, though you may have encountered asbestos while making repairs or renovations if you have an older home. If you have been exposed to asbestos fibers, you have an increased risk of getting lung cancer. Like most cancers, lung cancer tends to occur later in life. Lung cancer is rarely observed in people under the age of 45-50 years. 3. What should I do to prevent lung cancer? return to the top The best way to reduce your risk of getting lung cancer is to quit smoking. In our institution, smoking cessation counseling is offered to all participants in our lung cancer early detection program.	“I think that research on early detection of lung cancer is very important. My father would have had his 86th birthday today, but he died nearly 30 years ago from lung cancer. I would have hoped that there would be a cure for lung cancer by now, but there isn’t. I saw a newscast on television today about CT Lung Cancer Screening, and it sounds like it really helps people. It was reported that in studies, 22 out of 23 cancers were found using CT, in spite of the possibilities of false positive and false negative results. The costs of the tests really don’t matter when you consider that they can prevent the awful, slow death of lung cancer. Please keep doing research so that CT Lung Cancer Screening can be an option for everyone that needs it.”
4. What is low-dose CT Lung Cancer Screening and should I get it? return to the top Lung cancer is often not detected until it is advanced and a cure is no longer possible. More lives would be saved if lung cancer could be detected early on, when it could still be cured by surgical removal. Screening tests are the only way to detect cancer in its earliest stages. In the past, physicians used conventional chest x-rays and analyses of sputum (produced as the patient coughed) to detect lung cancer. While these techniques resulted in detection of many cancers, they were not found to effectively reduce the overall number of people who died from lung cancer More recently, computed tomography (CT) scanning—also known as computed axial tomography, or CAT scanning—has been investigated as a promising method of detecting lung cancer early. The CT scanner consists of a patient couch and an open ring that rotates around the patient during test. Advanced x-ray equipment is mounted on the ring. As the ring rotates around the patient, the x-ray “cameras” acquire cross-sectional images of the lungs. In our institution, only cutting-edge CT scanners are used for the purpose of early detection of lung cancer. These state of the art scanners acquire high-resolution images in the shortest possible length of time. The procedure is painless. Since it is a type of x-ray procedure, however, there is some radiation exposure during the exam. By using only high-speed scanners and low-dose technology, we are able to minimize that exposure. In our facility, a patient undergoing CT lung cancer screening will be exposed to approximately the same amount of radiation he or she would normally absorb from background sources—such as the sun—in one year. Low-dose CT lung cancer screening can be used to find small lesions (such as nodules or abnormal clusters of cells) in the lung that may represent early forms of lung cancer. While 30-50% of individuals who undergo low-dose CT lung cancer screening have such lesions, most do not have early forms of lung cancer. The vast majority of small lesions are harmless residues of healed focal inflammations of the lung. If small lesions are found in a person undergoing low-dose CT lung cancer screening, however, we ask the person to return for repeat examinations after several months. If the lesion is larger on a later examination, this growth may indicate malignancy (cancer). Again, in most cases, no cancer is found. But by keeping track of any changes in the lesions, we can be more certain that cancer will be detected early if it is present. Past and present smokers between the ages of 55 and 80 years are currently taking part in a study to evaluate whether low-dose CT screening might be effective in reducing the overall number of lung cancer deaths in the US. Patients are being enrolled in association with the American College of Radiology Information Network (ACRIN).

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