Lung cancer screening: current evidence and recommendations

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in industrialized countries, especially among current and former smokers. Lung cancer survival is directly correlated to the stage of the disease. Cancer screening can detect cancer at an early stage of the disease. Screening in general should prevent cancer or reduce cancer-specific mortality. Clinical practice guidelines of major medical societies have not recommended routine screening for lung cancer so far. Recent publications of new studies raised interest in lung cancer screening again. In this article, we give an overview on the current evidence of lung cancer screening and discuss our personal recommendations for clinical practice.