Lung Cancer Screening

Technologies

In the past, physicians used conventional two-dimensional chest X-rays and analyses of sputum (produced as the patient coughed) to detect lung cancer. While these techniques resulted in the detection of many cancers, they were not found to effectively reduce the overall number of people who died from lung cancer.

Lung cancer tumors are typically about the size of a dime by the time they are discovered on a chest X-ray, and by then, the cancer cells are likely to have spread to other parts of the body. In comparison, a spiral CT (computerized tomography) scan can show cancerous abnormalities that are no larger than a grain of rice. The CT scan also takes multiple cross-sectional images of the lungs, giving physicians a much better view than a chest X-ray.

Using the most advanced spiral CT technology available, the Ingalls screening is a painless procedure that uses low-dose radiation to scan the entire chest in about 15 to 25 seconds, during a single, large breath-hold. The CT scanner rotates around the participant, who is lying still on a table as the table passes through the center of the scanner. A computer creates images from the digital information coming from the scanner and then assembles these images into a highly detailed three-dimensional model of the lungs.

Spiral CT can pick up tumors well under one centimeter in size, while chest X-rays can only detect tumors between one to two centimeters (0.4 to 0.8 inches) in size. The scans can also help detect other non-cancerous lung conditions including emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

When completed, an experienced radiologist at Ingalls carefully reads and interprets the scan. All scans are also reviewed by sophisticated computer-aided detection software that assists radiologists in discovering particularly hard-to-detect nodules.