Photo Credit: Spectral-Design

Low-dose CT screening improved outcomes compared with chest radiography in low-dose CT across a nationally representative population, according to results published in JAMA Network Open. To assess the comparative effectiveness of low dose computed tomography vs chest radiography screening strategies evaluated in the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST)—which included a nationally representative target population of US adults who meet the NLST eligibility criteria—Sarah E. Robertson, PhD, and colleagues, conducted a study combining NLST data with NHIS survey data from 2010 and analyzed the efficacy of lung cancer screening in US adults aged 55 to 74 with at least 30 pack-years of smoking history, utilizing transportability analyses. The analysis showed that NLST patients had lower lung cancer–specific and all-cause mortality reductions compared to the target population. According to the study results, rate reductions were 18% for lung cancer–specific and 6% for all-cause mortality in the target population. In the NLST, relative rate reduction for lung cancer–specific mortality was 21%, with an absolute rate reduction of 67 deaths per 100,000 person-years; for all-cause mortality, the relative rate reduction was 7%.