Major medical organizations(1), (2) and doctors at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center recommend you consider being screened only if you are at least 55 years old and have 30 pack years of smoking or more. But even if you meet these criteria, the chance you will get lung cancer is unique to you.
Our lung cancer screening decision tool can help you understand the likelihood that screening will help you by first calculating the chance you will develop and die of lung cancer, and then figuring out how likely it is that screening will prevent that from happening. It is an online questionnaire that asks only about lung cancer risk factors and is completely confidential.
Who Can Use This Tool?
This screening decision tool was designed to be used by people who are current and former smokers. It works only for people like those listed below whose risk is high enough to accurately assess.
- Age: 50 to 75 years old.
- Smoking history: 10 to 60 cigarettes (one-half pack to three packs) a day for 25 to 55 years.
- Current smokers or former smokers who quit 20 years ago or less.
Why Is This Tool Useful?
This tool helps clinicians and patients determine the chance that screening will be beneficial. Research shows that the chance that a current or former smoker will benefit from lung cancer screening depends on that person’s individual risk of developing the disease.(3), (4), (5), (6)
Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in collaboration with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, developed and tested this lung cancer screening decision tool. The tool is based on data from the Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET), a large, randomized trial of lung cancer prevention, and has been shown in other studies to work in predicting people getting lung cancer.(4), (6)
What Information Will You Need?
In order for this tool to provide accurate information, you will need your:
- Age
- Gender
- Number of years that you have smoked
- The average number of cigarettes you smoked per day during your years of smoking
- How many years it has been since you quit, if you have
- Whether or not you were exposed to asbestos at work
Patients should discuss the results of this prediction tool with their doctor.
Use our lung cancer screening decision tool.
Contact Us
If you have questions or comments about this tool, please contact us at publicaffairs@mskcc.org.
- Bach PB, Mirkin JN, Oliver TK, et al. Benefits and Harms of CT Screening for Lung Cancer: A Systematic ReviewBenefits and Harms of CT Screening for Lung Cancer. JAMA. May 20 2012:1-12.
- Wender R, Fontham ET, Barrera E, Jr., et al. American Cancer Society lung cancer screening guidelines. CA Cancer J Clin. Mar-Apr 2013;63(2):107-117.
- Bach PB, Gould MK. When the average applies to no one: personalized decision making about potential benefits of lung cancer screening. Ann Intern Med. Oct 16 2012;157(8):571-573.
- Bach PB, Kattan MW, Thornquist MD, et al. Variations in lung cancer risk among smokers. J Natl Cancer Inst. Mar 19 2003;95(6):470-478.
- Kovalchik SA, Tammemagi M, Berg CD, et al. Targeting of low-dose CT screening according to the risk of lung-cancer death. N Engl J Med. Jul 18 2013;369(3):245-254.
- Bach PB, Elkin EB, Pastorino U, et al. Benchmarking lung cancer mortality rates in current and former smokers. Chest. Dec 2004;126(6):1742-1749.
