A new report released November 17 by the American Lung Association (ALA) found that less than 6% of people eligible for lung cancer screening in 2019 underwent the exam.
The association's "State of Lung Cancer 2020" report also found that people of color often have worse lung cancer outcomes than their white counterparts: Early diagnosis rates were 16% lower among Black people and 13% lower among Latinx people compared with white individuals, the rate of surgical treatment was 19% lower among Black and indigenous people compared with white counterparts, and Latinx people had 39% higher rates of having no treatment at all compared with white patients.
Finally, the report found geographical variations in screening rates, with highest screening incidence in Massachusetts (18.5%), Vermont (13.8%), and New Hampshire (12.1%), and lowest in New Mexico (1.6%), California (1.2%), and Nevada (1%).
"The [report] highlights that too many people are being left behind when it comes to making progress against lung cancer," ALA president and CEO Harold Wimmer said in a statement released by the association. "We must all do more to address lung cancer, for all communities."
![Axial images from unenhanced calcium score cardiac CT (left) and curved planar reformation images from CT angiography (right) show that higher long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with greater coronary artery calcium and more obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Top row: Images in a 68-year-old male patient with higher 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (7.9 μg/m3 for particulate matter measuring ≤2.5 μm in diameter [PM2.5] and 17.4 parts per billion [ppb] for NO2) with extensive CAD (coronary artery calcium score [CACS] >1,000 and obstructive CAD [≥70% diameter stenosis]). Bottom row: Images in a 57-year-old female patient with lower 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (6.3 μg/m3 for PM2.5 and 4.6 ppb for NO2) with no CAD (CACS = 0 and no obstructive stenosis).](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/06/hanneman.r6SMLzkezo.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
