Lung Cancer Screening

Guest: Sebastian Fernandez-Bussy, M.D. Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. (@ChutkaMD) Lung cancer is the second most common malignancy in both men and women.  Survival rates depend on how early the cancer is discovered, with a survival rate much higher in localized disease than for patients with distant metastases. Therefore, an early diagnosis becomes extremely important. One of the problems with early diagnosis is that until recently, we’ve not had an effective screening test for lung cancer. In this podcast, we’ll be speaking with Sebastian Fernandez-Bussy, M.D., an Interventional Pulmonologist from the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and we’ll discuss proven techniques for lung cancer screening. Specific topics: Benefits in survival in finding lung cancer at an early stage Candidates for screening patients at an increased risk for lung cancer Evidence showing the benefits of lung cancer screening Differences in radiation for chest CT scans used for screening vs. a typical diagnostic chest CT scan Frequency of indeterminate pulmonary nodules found on chest CT Insurance and Medicare coverage for lung cancer screening Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd.