Examining Lung Cancer Screening Uptake in the United States: Recent Research and Limitations of Public-Use Data

Eligibility criteria for lung cancer screening (LCS) were updated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in 2022 following an updated recommendation from the United States Preventive Services Task Force. Recently, research has examined LCS use in the United States following this change, which centered on lowering the age to begin screening from 55 to 50 years and the smoking history threshold from 30 to 20 pack-years. These studies, including the accompanying article from Gudina and colleagues, have used the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System data, which are publicly available and nationally representative. Although increases in LCS use have been reported in all studies, screening remains low compared with other population-level cancer screening programs, highlighting the need for interventions to improve LCS uptake and adherence. Data limitations from population-based surveys may affect the ability to accuracy track LCS rates. Additional, high-quality data are needed to further assess the uptake of—and adherence to—LCS following the updated eligibility criteria.

See related article by Gudina et al., p. 35