Benefits of Lung Cancer Screening: A Conversation with Kim Sandler, MD
ACP 2025: Kim Sandler, MD, sat down with Patient Care to discuss the benefits of lung cancer screening, citing a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality with annual screenings.
At the American College of Physicians Internal Medicine Meeting 2025, April 3-5, in New Orleans, Kim L. Sandler, MD, sat down with Patient Care to discuss key takeaways from her presentation on lung cancer screening during the session titled "Clinical Triad: Lung Cancer in 2025: A New Day Is Dawning." Dr Sandler is the director of the Vanderbilt Lung Screening Program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. In the video above, Dr Sandler provides an overview of the benefits of lung cancer screening and the most recent clinical practice guidelines for lung cancer screening.
The following transcript has been edited for clarity, style, and length.
Patient Care: Can you summarize the key benefits of lung cancer screening that you highlight in your presentation?
Kim Sandler, MD: Absolutely. We're really fortunate that there have been a number of randomized controlled trials that have been performed to study the benefits of lung cancer screening. One of them was the National Lung Screening Trial that enrolled over 50 000 individuals and that demonstrated a 20% mortality reduction from lung cancer with annual lung screening and a 7% reduction overall all-cause mortality as well. So we know that there's a significant mortality benefit. We also know from our practice that we see early stage detection, which allows for less invasive treatment very often, if we can find tumors early before they've had a chance to grow and to spread.
Patient Care: What are the most recent clinical practice guidelines for lung cancer screening?
Dr Sandler: Currently, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends lung screening for individuals aged 50 to 80 years old with a 20-pack year history of smoking, who are either currently smoking or quit smoking within the past 15 years. There have been discussions around removing the 15-year quit-time restriction, but as it stands now, the USPSTF guidelines still include it.
