Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol.
Already have an account?
By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our Privacy Policy.
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?
Lorna Benson
St. Paul, Minn.

CT scans can reduce lung cancer deaths, study finds

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

A large-scale, lung cancer screening trial has shown that heavy smokers who got spiral CT scans reduced their risk of dying by 20 percent compared to smokers who had standard chest X-rays.

"This difference is statistically significant, meaning that it's unlikely that it's just random variation between the two groups," said Dr. Tim Church from the University of Minnesota.

Spiral CT scans produce more detailed images of the lung.

More than 53,000 smokers participated in the study. The University of Minnesota recruited 6,600 smokers.

Church is not advising smokers to get a CT scan just yet.

"We have to make sure that we're not doing more harm than we should in getting that benefit," Church said. "And then once that analysis is done, recommendations can be formulated about who to screen, how often to screen, at what ages to screen and how long to screen them."

More sensitive CT scans can reveal lung masses that do not end up being cancerous. Church said investigating those false readings can be expensive and lead to needless surgeries and tests. In addition, all X-ray scans transmit radiation which can cause cancer.