American Cancer Society Releases Updated Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has updated its lung cancer screening recommendations for the first time in a decade, stating that millions more Americans should be screened for the disease. The new guidelines recommend annual lung cancer screening with a low-dose computed tomography scan for men and women between the ages of 50 and 80 who currently smoke or formerly smoked and have a 20 pack-year history. The previous recommendation targeted adults ages 55 to 74 with a 30 pack-year smoking history. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the US, and the ACS estimates that nearly 240,000 new cases will be diagnosed in 2023.