Lung alliance outlines screening strategy

The Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) has launched a new screening initiative called the Framework for Lung Cancer Screening Excellence that includes a bill of rights for individuals at risk of the disease, along with guiding principles for lung cancer screening programs.

The goal of the initiative is to move screening into the clinical realm through the efforts of "thoughtful and responsible" leaders, said Laurie Ambrose, LCA's president and CEO, in a February 9 statement.

Lung cancer's 15% survival rate has barely budged in 40 years, but lung cancer screening -- if properly executed -- has the potential to save more lives than other cancer screening programs, according to LCA.

The national framework states that individuals have a right to know if they are at risk for lung cancer, and they should seek screening only at sites that follow certain guiding principles outlined in LCA's initiative.

Those principles include having a properly implemented screening program and a comprehensive continuum of care, with clinical specialists in pulmonary disease, thoracic surgery, radiology, and oncology, wrote Dr. William Mayfield, chief surgical officer for WellStar Health Systems, which developed the protocol included in the LCA framework.

The initiative also establishes a Screening Excellence Forum of leaders to develop a dynamic system to collect data and specimens incorporating advances in imaging and biomedicine as they are validated. The framework encourages research into biomarkers, precancerous conditions, and targeted therapies that can be enhanced by collecting biological samples during screening. The framework can be found at LCA's website.