The American College of Radiology (ACR) is urging Aetna to update its lung cancer screening policy to reflect guidelines recently released by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).
In a letter dated April 1, the ACR, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer asked the insurer to adjust its policy in line with the USPSTF's changes, which include a lowered screening start age (from 55 to 50) and a smoking pack-year eligibility of 20 pack years rather than 30.
"Given the impact the updated USPSTF recommendations could have on the population's lung cancer diagnosis and death rate prevalence, we request that Aetna update its [low-dose CT] lung cancer screening coverage policy immediately to save the largest number of lives possible," the group wrote.
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
