CT scans have not been shown to decrease lung cancer mortality rates. Previous studies have estimated that of all nodules detected with this technology, just 15 percent are malignant. What can appear to be the beginnings of a tumor are often harmless marks on the lungs caused by dust or scars left from other illnesses such as pneumonia. It has a high cost and you run the risk of performing unnecessary biopsies, as would be the case with an abnormal mammogram. But Brunetta believes the tests could be an important tool in fighting lung cancer, which has a five-year survival rate of only 13 percent.
Lung cancer is a very common and deadly disease.
The technology is widely available. It only requires that people hold their breath for 20 seconds. And it's not painful or invasive. We need to study this carefully. Brunetta is principal investigator of the Early Lung Malignancy Study, which will examine lung cancer detection rates among high risk individuals using CT scanning and sputum tests - when phlegm coughed from the patient's lungs is inspected for signs of cancer.