Attitudes of Clinicians about Screening Head and Neck Cancer Survivors for Lung Cancer Using Low-Dose Computed Tomography.

OBJECTIVE: National guidelines recommend lung cancer screening (LCS) using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for high-risk patients, including survivors of other tobacco-related cancers like head and neck cancer (HNC). This qualitative study investigated clinicians' practices and attitudes toward LCS with LDCT with patients who have survived HNC, in the context of mandated requirements for shared decision making (SDM) using decision aids. METHODS: Thematic analysis of transcribed semi-structured clinician interviews and focus group. RESULTS: Clinicians recognized LCS' utility for some HNC survivors with smoking histories. However, they identified many challenges to SDM in diverse clinic settings, including time, workflow, uncertainty about guidelines and reimbursement, decision aids, competing patient priorities, unclear evidence, potentially heightened patient receptivity and stress, and the complexity of discussions. They also identified challenges to LCS implementation. CONCLUSIONS: While clinicians feel that LDCT LCS may benefit some HNC survivors, there are barriers both to implementing LCS SDM for these patients in primary care as currently recommended and to integrating it into cancer clinics. Challenges for SDM across settings include a lack of decision aids tailored to patients with cancer histories. Given recommendations to broaden LCS eligibility criteria, more research may be required before refinement of current guidelines.

The complicated 'Yes': Decision-making processes and receptivity to lung cancer screening among head and neck cancer survivors.

OBJECTIVE: Shared decision making (SDM) is recommended when offering lung cancer screening (LCS)-which presents challenges with tobacco-related cancer survivors because they were excluded from clinical trials. Our objective was to characterize head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs toward LCS and SDM. METHODS: Between November 2017 and June 2018, we conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 19 HNC survivors, focusing on patients' cancer and smoking history, receptivity to and perceptions of LCS, and decision-making preferences RESULTS: Participants were receptive to LCS, referencing their successful HNC outcomes. They perceived that LCS might reduce uncertainty and emphasized the potential benefits of early diagnosis. Some expressed concern over costs or overdiagnosis, but most minimized potential harms, including false positives and radiation exposure. Participants preferred in-person LCS discussions, often ideally with their cancer specialist. CONCLUSION AND PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: HNC survivors may have overly optimistic expectations for LCS, and clinicians need to account for this in SDM discussions. Supporting these patients in making informed decisions will be challenging because we lack clinical data on the potential benefits and harms of LCS for cancer survivors. While some patients prefer discussing LCS with their cancer specialists, the ability of specialists to support high-quality decision making is uncertain.