DQ: Evaluate a clinical preventative intervention designed to promote health and wellness for populations

DQ: Evaluate a clinical preventative intervention designed to promote health and wellness for populations

Lung cancer has been the number one cause of cancer death in the United States (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [ODPHP], 2021). Finding lung cancer earlier on, at a lower stage, will be easier to treat and could save lives. Studies have found that low-dose computed tomography (CT) screenings detect a majority of lung cancer at stage 1 or limited stage (Copeland et al., 2019). This has now been approved at no cost to patients under the Affordable Care Act if they meet certain requirements. They must be between the ages of 50 and 80, have a history of heavy smoking, and currently smoke or have quit in the past 15 years (ODPHP, 2021). Although it is great for those who meet all of these requirements, it would be better if this could become standard for anyone who meets at least one of these requirements. Many patients can still get lung cancer even if they have never smoked a cigarette in their life. More translational research studies could prove the benefit and eventually change the criteria.

References

Copeland, A., Criswell, A., Ciupek, A., & King, J. C. (2019). Effectiveness of lung cancer screening implementation in the community setting in the united states. Journal of Oncology Practice, 15(7), e607–e615. https://doi.org/10.1200/jop.18.00788