The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is recommending that asymptomatic people at high risk for lung cancer be screened annually with low-dose computed tomography (Grade B recommendation). 

 

In a draft recommendation that updates the task force’s position from 2004, the group says that there are benefits to screening healthy people aged 55 to 79 years with at least a 30-pack-year history of smoking who have smoked within the prior 15 years. For patients with significant comorbidities, specifically those who are older, physicians should use caution in recommending screening.

The group reminds readers that low-dose CT screening is not an alternative to smoking cessation.