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World J Respirol. Jul 28, 2015; 5(2): 160-165
Published online Jul 28, 2015. doi: 10.5320/wjr.v5.i2.160
Screening for lung cancer with chest computerized tomography: Is it cost efficient?
Tomasz Jarosław Szczęsny, Małgorzata Kanarkiewicz, Janusz Kowalewski
Tomasz Jarosław Szczęsny, Janusz Kowalewski, Department of Thoracic Surgery and Tumors, Oncology Center in Bydgoszcz, 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Małgorzata Kanarkiewicz, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Nicolaus Copernicus University Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Janusz Kowalewski, Department of Thoracic Surgery and Neoplasms, Medical Faculty in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Author contributions: All authors contributed to the writing of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Tomasz Jarosław Szczęsny, MD, PhD, Department of Thoracic Surgery and Tumors, Oncology Center in Bydgoszcz, Romanowskiej Str. 2, 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland. szczesny@lungcancer.med.pl
Telephone: + 48-52-3743574 Fax: +48-52-3743436
Received: November 24, 2014
Peer-review started: November 26, 2014
First decision: January 8, 2015
Revised: February 6, 2015
Accepted: April 8, 2015
Article in press: April 9, 2015
Published online: July 28, 2015
Processing time: 253 Days and 7 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Results of prospective, randomized trial finally provided the evidence that lung cancer screening with computerized tomography prolongs survival of the screened population. Several cost-effectiveness analyses were performed to justify mass introduction of this screening, but their results differ between countries. Cost-effectiveness depends especially upon the rate of false-positive results which increase the number of unnecessary medical procedures. Therefore, to ensure high cost-effectiveness, lung cancer screening should be performed in accordance with screening protocol, in dedicated screening centers equipped with nodule volume change analysis, or as a prospective non-randomized trial, to ensure compliance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria.