CT Scan to Detect Early Lung Cancer
Oct. 26, 2006 <p> -- CT SCAN to DETECT EARLY LUNG CANCER New research published today in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that annual chest CT-scan screenings of people who are at high risk for lung cancer may reduce the chance of death from lung cancer. Doctors estimate that 88 percent of the participants whose lung cancer was detected early via CT scan and treated will still be alive 10 years in the future. This rate is higher than the 70 percent five-year survival estimate generally associated with treated, early-stage lung cancer, suggesting CT scanning could be an effective screening tool. However, questions remain. It is not clear yet that chest CT scans save lives as opposed to just diagnosing the cancer sooner. Also, early CT scanning exposes people to radiation, and the side effects of this are unknown. Perhaps most importantly, the new study does not answer a key question: Who should be considered "high risk" enough to undergo yearly CT scans -- current smokers? Former smokers? And at what age should people get scanned? More studies are currently under way to answer these questions.
HOSPITALIZATIONS for BREAST CANCER DROP Hospital admissions for breast cancer fell by one-third between 1997 and 2004, according to new government numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research Quality. The decrease is due to more women being treated as outpatients, plus the growing use of breast-conserving surgeries like lumpectomies, which do not require the woman to be admitted to the hospital. Overall, the number of hospital stays for breast cancer decreased from about 125,000 to 90,000.
ASTHMA PREVALENCE LINKED to DIABETES New research presented at the annual CHEST meeting in Salt Lake City shows that there is a higher prevalence of asthma in patients with Type II diabetes. This large study compared asthma rates of close to 300,000 patients with Type II diabetes to about 550,000 patients without it. The researchers found that the rates of asthma were significantly higher in patients with diabetes, and they suggest that patients with diabetes and breathing problems be examined for asthma.
STAT is a brief look at the latest medical research and is compiled by Joanna Schaffhausen, who holds a doctorate in behavioral neuroscience. She works in the ABC News Medical Unit, evaluating medical studies, abstracts and news releases.
