Low CT lung cancer screening rates have disappointed medical imaging professionals and public health advocates alike since the test received USPSTF recommendation over 10 years ago. But a new study shows how one health system doubled its lung cancer screening rates – to levels approaching those of more established cancer screening exams.
USPSTF recommended low-dose CT lung cancer screening in 2013, but 10 years later patient screening rates languished in the mid-teens, compared to rates of around 75% for breast and cervical cancer and above 72% for colorectal cancer.
- That means many lung cancer patients are showing up with late-stage disease, when it’s more difficult to cure. Perhaps as a result, lung cancer is expected to cause almost 125k deaths in the U.S. in 2025.
Breaking that cycle was the goal of researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, who wrote about their experiences in a study published in NEJM Catalyst.
- They wanted to boost lung cancer screening adherence across their network of 42 locations in western New York.
So how did they do it? Success came through a combination of IT innovation and old-fashioned legwork in patient outreach. Clinicians…
- Provided evidence on lung cancer screening to primary care providers.
- Updated their EHR software to identify patients eligible for lung screening based on the daily schedule to provide screening prompts during patient visits.
- Created dashboards to guide outreach to patients due or overdue for screening exams.
- Developed an extensive follow-up program with patient navigators to facilitate recall for annual exams.
- Created a centralized pulmonary team to provide referrals for smoking cessation, conduct shared decision making for screening exams, and manage pulmonary nodules.
The program produced immediate results. In an analysis comparing screening rates in March 2022 to June 2025, researchers found…
- Lung screening rates doubled (from 33% to 72%).
- On-time completion of annual LDCT screening exceeded 94%.
- 78% of lung cancer cases in 2023 and 2024 were diagnosed at an early stage.
- There were no statistically significant differences in screening rates by patient race.
The Takeaway
The new results match up with recent findings – such as those presented at WCLC 2025 in September – underscoring the importance of reaching out to potential lung cancer screening candidates to bring them into the fold. Despite CT lung screening’s halting history, these studies show that it can be done.