Korean National Lung Cancer Screening

Abstract

The results of large-scale clinical studies have shown that the lung cancer mortality rate can be reduced by lung cancer screening using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) in high-risk populations. Lung cancer screening requires rigorous quality control to ensure that imaging can be introduced into evidence-based medical systems and that results can be effectively delivered to examinees. Cessation of smoking is indispensable for reducing mortality in parallel with lung cancer screening. Pulmonary nodules found in LDCT during the Korean National Lung Cancer Screening are categorized according to their characteristics, size, and time of discovery based on the Lung Imaging Reporting And Data System (Lung-RADS); management guidelines are followed according to categorization. To improve the efficiency of lung cancer screening, studies are currently ongoing to enable selection of high-risk groups using lung cancer prediction models and biomarkers. Based on the risk estimation classification of lung cancer, it is expected that the selection of screening subjects and the screening cycle can be differentiated, which will increase the efficiency of screening, reduce the risk of unnecessary radiation exposure, and reduce the cost of screening.