QUIZ: Mortality Risk and Screening Criteria

In our lung cancer quiz, you'll get a chance to test your knowledge of the mortality risk among patients with lung cancer, and learn more about screening criteria to try reduce these rates. Here's your first question:

1. The incidence and mortality risk of lung cancer increase steadily with age until age ___ years.A. 65
B. 70
C. 75
D. 80

Please click here for answer.D: 80 years. The incidence and mortality of lung cancers and most other cancers climbs with age until about age 80 years.

Reference:
Luo YH, Luo L, Wampfler JA, et al. 5-year overall survival in patients with lung cancer eligible or ineligible for screening according to US Preventive Services Task Force criteria: a prospective, observational cohort study. Lancet Oncology. 2019; 20:1098-1108.

Please click here for next question.2. The US Prevention Services Task Force (USPSTF) criteria for recommended low-dose CT lung cancer screening include which of the following?

A. Age 55-80
B. Smoking history of 30 pack years or more
C. Current smokers or those who quit less than 15 years ago
D. All of the above

Please click here for answer.D: All of the above. The USPSTF recommends low-dose CT lung cancer screening for individuals aged 55 to 80 years, with a smoking history of at least 30 pack-years, and who either currently smoke or who quit less than 15 years ago. A USPSTF criteria modeling study predicted that full implementation of these recommendations would save approximately 18,000 lives per year.

Reference:
Luo YH, Luo L, Wampfler JA, et al. 5-year overall survival in patients with lung cancer eligible or ineligible for screening according to US Preventive Services Task Force criteria: a prospective, observational cohort study. Lancet Oncology. 2019; 20:1098-1108.

Please click here for next question.3. Screening of high-risk individuals with low-dose CT in the National Lung Screening Trial  (NLST) was associated with a ___% reduction in lung cancer mortality.

A. 10%
B. 15%
C. 20%
D. 25%

Please click here for answer.C: 20%. The NLST demonstrated a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality for high-risk individuals screened with low-dose CT for early detection.

Reference:
Luo YH, Luo L, Wampfler JA, et al. 5-year overall survival in patients with lung cancer eligible or ineligible for screening according to US Preventive Services Task Force criteria: a prospective, observational cohort study. Lancet Oncology. 2019; 20:1098-1108.

Please click here for next question.4. Approximately what proportion of lung cancer patients meet USPSTF lung screening criteria?

A. 25%
B. 33%
C. 66%
D. 75%

Please click here for answer.B: Approximately 33%. Findings from analyses of data from the NCI Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program database, as well as cohort studies, indicate that only a third of US patients diagnosed with lung cancer meet USPSTF screening criteria. That indicates some high-risk individuals fall outside the USPSTF criteria for screening, according to the authors of a recent systematic review published in The Lancet Oncology.

Reference:
Luo YH, Luo L, Wampfler JA, et al. 5-year overall survival in patients with lung cancer eligible or ineligible for screening according to US Preventive Services Task Force criteria: a prospective, observational cohort study. Lancet Oncology. 2019; 20:1098-1108.

Please click here for next question.5. According to a recent systematic review published in The Lancet Oncology, which of the following lung cancer patients have a similar mortality risk as those who meet current USPSTF lung cancer screening criteria?

A. Patients who quit 15 or more years before diagnosis
B. Patients up to 5 years younger than the age cutoff
C. Neither of the above
D. Both A&B

Please click here for answer.D: Both A&B. The systematic review included studies published between 1997 and 2017, and found that patients who quit 15 or more years prior to diagnosis or who are up to 5 years younger than the USPSTF-recommended age range for low-dose CT lung cancer screening, but who otherwise met the screening criteria, have similar mortality risks as patients who meet all existing USPSTF screening criteria. The authors argued that patients in both groups could benefit from an expansion of the USPSTF screening criteria for early lung cancer detection.

Reference:
Luo YH, Luo L, Wampfler JA, et al. 5-year overall survival in patients with lung cancer eligible or ineligible for screening according to US Preventive Services Task Force criteria: a prospective, observational cohort study. Lancet Oncology. 2019; 20:1098-1108.