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VIDEO: Expert discusses controversies in lung cancer screenings

WASHINGTON — David E. Midthun, MD, FACP, professor of medicine and director of the lung cancer screening program at Mayo Clinic, discussed various aspects of lung cancer screening here at the annual American College of Physicians Internal Medicine Meeting.

He shared some controversies in lung cancer screening guidelines, noting some discordance among the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, CMS and National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines.

"The issue to highlight within the current recommendations is that there are many people who are at high risk for lung cancer who don't fit the USPSTF or CMS requirements," Midthun said.

He also mentioned that lung cancer screening is much more efficacious than other types of cancer screenings, such as mammography. In addition, since the imaging area is so broad, 50% to 70% of scans return incidental findings and 10% to 15% return clinically significant findings.