Screening for lung cancer: 2023 guideline update from the American Cancer Society.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of mortality and person-years of life lost from cancer among US men and women. Early detection has been shown to be associated with reduced lung cancer mortality. Our objective was to update the American Cancer Society (ACS) 2013 lung cancer screening (LCS) guideline for adults at high risk for lung cancer. The guideline is intended to provide guidance for screening to health care providers and their patients who are at high risk for lung cancer due to a history of smoking. The ACS Guideline Development Group (GDG) utilized a systematic review of the LCS literature commissioned for the US Preventive Services Task Force 2021 LCS recommendation update; a second systematic review of lung cancer risk associated with years since quitting smoking (YSQ); literature published since 2021; two Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network-validated lung cancer models to assess the benefits and harms of screening; an epidemiologic and modeling analysis examining the effect of YSQ and aging on lung cancer risk; and an updated analysis of benefit-to-radiation-risk ratios from LCS and follow-up examinations. The GDG also examined disease burden data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. Formulation of recommendations was based on the quality of the evidence and judgment (incorporating values and preferences) about the balance of benefits and harms. The GDG judged that the overall evidence was moderate and sufficient to support a strong recommendation for screening individuals who meet the eligibility criteria. LCS in men and women aged 50-80 years is associated with a reduction in lung cancer deaths across a range of study designs, and inferential evidence supports LCS for men and women older than 80 years who are in good health. The ACS recommends annual LCS with low-dose computed tomography for asymptomatic individuals aged 50-80 years who currently smoke or formerly smoked and have a ≥20 pack-year smoking history (strong recommendation, moderate quality of evidence). Before the decision is made to initiate LCS, individuals should engage in a shared decision-making discussion with a qualified health professional. For individuals who formerly smoked, the number of YSQ is not an eligibility criterion to begin or to stop screening. Individuals who currently smoke should receive counseling to quit and be connected to cessation resources. Individuals with comorbid conditions that substantially limit life expectancy should not be screened. These recommendations should be considered by health care providers and adults at high risk for lung cancer in discussions about LCS. If fully implemented, these recommendations have a high likelihood of significantly reducing death and suffering from lung cancer in the United States.

Racial inequities in the quality of surgical care among Medicare beneficiaries with localized prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: US Black men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer as men of other races. Lower quality care may contribute to this higher death rate. METHODS: Sociodemographic and clinical data were obtained for men in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare diagnosed with clinically localized prostate cancer (cT1-4N0/xM0/x) and managed primarily by radical prostatectomy (2005-2015). Surgical volume was determined for facility and surgeon. Relationships between race, surgeon and/or facility volume, and characteristics of treating facility with survival (all-cause and cancer-specific) were assessed using multivariable Cox regression and competing risk analysis. RESULTS: Black men represented 6.7% (n = 2123) of 31,478 cohort. They were younger at diagnosis, had longer time from diagnosis to surgery, lower socioeconomic status, higher prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and higher comorbid status compared with men of other races (p < .001). They were less likely to receive care from a surgeon or facility in the top volume percentile (p < .001); less likely to receive surgical care at a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center and more likely seen at a minority-serving hospital; and less likely to travel ≥50 miles for surgical care. On multivariable analysis stratified by surgical volume, Black men receiving care from a surgeon or facility with lower volumes demonstrated increased risk of prostate cancer mortality (hazard ratio, 1.61; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-2.69) adjusting for age, clinical stage, PSA, and comorbidity index. CONCLUSIONS: Black Medicare beneficiaries with prostate cancer more commonly receive care from surgeons and facilities with lower volumes, likely affecting surgical quality and outcomes. Access to high-quality prostate cancer care may reduce racial inequities in disease outcomes, even among insured men. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Black men are twice as likely to die of prostate cancer than other US men. Lower quality care may contribute to higher rates of prostate cancer death. We used surgical volume to evaluate the relationship between race and quality of care. Black Medicare beneficiaries with prostate cancer more commonly received care from surgeons and facilities with lower volumes, correlating with a higher risk of prostate cancer death and indicating scarce resources for care. Access to high-quality prostate cancer care eases disparities in disease outcomes. Patient-centered interventions that increase access to high-quality care for Black men with prostate cancer are needed.

Chemotherapy use, outcomes, and costs for older persons with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: evidence from surveillance, epidemiology and end results-Medicare.

PURPOSE: There is limited published documentation regarding US community patterns of care for older patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database, we examined community treatment patterns for advanced NSCLC, focusing on chemotherapy. METHODS: Patients with locally advanced or metastatic (TNM system stages IIIb and IV) NSCLC diagnosed between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 1999, were stratified based on chemotherapy agents received during the first 3 months following diagnosis. Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare survival, controlling for age, sex, race, noncancer comorbidity, stage at diagnosis, SEER region, and receipt of cancer-related surgery or radiation therapy in the first 3 months following diagnosis. Lifetime medical costs were calculated for each group. RESULTS: 14,875 patients met inclusion criteria: 7,411 (49.8%) stage III and 7,464 (50.2%) stage IV at diagnosis. Thirty-one percent received chemotherapy, 8% received surgery, and 53% received radiation therapy either as initial or adjuvant treatment. Persons > or = 75 years of age, females, African Americans, and those with more than one comorbidity were significantly less likely to receive chemotherapy (P < .01). Survival was inferior for those who did not receive a platinum-containing agent (P < .01). Lifetime costs were highest for those receiving platinum + taxane combinations, exceeding other regimens by more than $10,000 USD per patient. CONCLUSION: Chemotherapy prolongs survival in community settings, but is underutilized for persons with advanced NSCLC. Reasons for lower use in minorities and variation across regions deserve further study.

Lifetime implications and cost-effectiveness of using finasteride to prevent prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: We estimate the lifetime implications of daily treatment with finasteride following the results of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT). In this trial, prostate cancer prevalence was reduced by 25%; however, an increase in the number of high-grade tumors among the treatment group necessitates the long-term projection of the likely benefits and costs. METHODS: We use a Markov decision analysis model with data from the trial, the SEER program, and published literature. The model measures the cost per life-year and cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained for a cohort of men age 55 years who initiate preventive treatment with finasteride. RESULTS: Finasteride is associated with a gain of 6 life-years per 1000 men treated at an incremental cost of 1660000 dollars per life-year gained. The quality-adjusted analysis results in 46 QALYs gained per 1000 men treated at an incremental cost of 200000 dollars per QALY gained, due primarily to the favorable effects of finasteride on benign prostatic hyperplasia. Under the assumption that the increase in high-grade tumors observed among finasteride treated men is a pathologic artifact, the incremental costs are 290000 dollars per life-year gained and 130000 dollars per QALY gained. CONCLUSIONS: The cost burden associated with finasteride is substantial, while its survival benefit is small and only realized many years after initiating treatment. To achieve an incremental cost below 100000 dollars per QALY gained, the price of finasteride must be reduced by 50% from its current average wholesale price and finasteride must be shown to prevent high-grade as well as low-grade disease.

What do the screening trials really tell us and where do we go from here?

Publication of apparently conflicting results from 2 large trials of prostate cancer screening has intensified the debate about prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and has led to a recommendation against screening from the US Preventive Services Task Force. This article reviews the trials and discusses the limitations of their empirical results in informing public health policy. In particular, the authors explain why harm-benefit trade-offs based on empirical results may not accurately reflect the trade-offs expected under long-term population screening. This information should be useful to clinicians in understanding the implications of these studies regarding the value of PSA screening.

Duration of first off-treatment interval is prognostic for time to castration resistance and death in men with biochemical relapse of prostate cancer treated on a prospective trial of intermittent androgen deprivation.

PURPOSE: This was an exploratory analysis of a trial of intermittent androgen deprivation (IAD) in men with biochemical relapse (BR) to establish first cycle characteristics prognostic for progression to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and death. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Men with BR of prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiation (RT) were treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) comprised of leuprolide and flutamide. After 9 months on treatment, ADT was stopped, and monthly prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels were observed during the off-treatment interval. When the PSA reached a threshold value (1 ng/mL for RP, 4 ng/mL for RT), ADT was resumed in a new cycle. Patients were treated intermittently in this manner until CRPC, which was defined as > or = two consecutive increasing PSA values while on ADT with castrate testosterone levels. RESULTS: Seventy-two of 100 patients enrolled onto the study met criteria for this analysis. The duration of the first off-treatment interval (< or = v > 40 weeks) was associated with shorter time to CRPC (hazard ratio = 2.9; 95% CI, 1.1 to 7.7; P = .03) and death (hazard ratio = 3.8; 95% CI, 1.1 to 13.6; P = .04) after adjusting for age, stage, grade, and PSA at diagnosis. CONCLUSION: In patients who completed the first cycle of IAD, a duration of the first off-treatment interval of < or = 40 weeks defines a subset of patients at higher risk of CRPC and death. Conversely, patients with an off-treatment interval of more than 40 weeks have a significantly better long-term prognosis.

Is prostate-specific antigen velocity useful in early detection of prostate cancer? A critical appraisal of the evidence.

Prostate-specific antigen velocity (PSAV) is one of the oldest concepts in PSA screening, yet today it is one of the most controversial. Publication of a wide range of studies with different designs, study populations, and results has fueled uncertainty about the best way to use PSAV and confused the issue of its utility in the early detection setting. Studies of disease prognosis suggest that PSAV is strongly associated with lethal cancers. However, prospective screening trials find that PSAV is at best a weak predictor of high-risk disease. In this commentary, we synthesize and reconcile the evidence about the value of PSAV in the early detection setting. We review recent studies of PSAV and determine a set of statistical considerations that we believe to be critical in study evaluation and interpretation. We explain why the association between PSAV and disease-specific survival does not necessarily imply that PSAV will be a useful screening tool. In addition, we argue that the standard concept of PSAV--the absolute change in PSA per year--confuses disease aggressiveness with the interval from disease onset to detection. We therefore recommend that other methods be explored to incorporate information about PSA kinetics that could ultimately improve--and even transform--how we detect and treat prostate cancer.

Long-term effects of finasteride on prostate specific antigen levels: results from the prostate cancer prevention trial.

PURPOSE: Studies have shown that finasteride decreases prostate specific antigen (PSA) by approximately 50% during the first 12 months of use. We estimated the long-term effects of finasteride on PSA in men with and without a prostate cancer diagnosis at the end of the study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed serial PSA in participants in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial who had an end of study biopsy (928 with cancer and 8,620 with negative biopsy) or an interim diagnosis of prostate cancer (671). Linear mixed effects regression models were fit to longitudinal PSA values beginning 1 year after randomization. RESULTS: In subjects with no cancer in the end of study biopsy PSA in the finasteride arm showed a median annual decrease of 2% [corrected] after year 1, while PSA in the control arm showed an annual increase of 3% (p <0.001). In end of study cases PSA increased annually by 6% (placebo) and 7% (finasteride). In those with interim diagnoses PSA increased by 11% (placebo) and 15% (finasteride) each year prior to diagnosis. Cases with high grade disease (Gleason 7 and above) had greater PSA increases than cases with low grade disease (p <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In men who have been receiving finasteride for more than 1 year time varying adjustment factors may be needed to determine whether PSA is in the normal range. In the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial cohort the adjustment factor required to preserve median PSA increased from 2 at 24 months to 2.5 at 7 years after the initiation of finasteride.

Race independently predicts prostate specific antigen testing frequency following a prostate carcinoma diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: The goals of the current study were to describe patterns of prostate specific antigen (PSA) surveillance for prostate carcinoma progression in a community-based cohort of patients and to identify independent clinical and sociodemographic factors that predict the frequency of surveillance. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with localized prostate carcinoma from October 1, 1991 to December 31, 1992 in New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, were identified. Data were collected through standardized outpatient medical record review. Multivariate statistical methods were used to determine the factors that independently predicted the frequency of surveillance. RESULTS: Six hundred fifty-eight men with localized prostate carcinoma were included in the cohort. Forty-five percent of all patients were tested at least once annually, and 69% were tested at least once every 2 years. Multivariate models indicated that African American men were half as likely as Caucasian men to receive annual testing (odds ratio [OR], 0.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.24-0.97). Men diagnosed at age 70 years or older were 38% less likely to have annual testing than men diagnosed between the ages of 65 and 69 (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.41-0.94). A higher Gleason score and PSA at presentation also were associated independently with higher rates of annual PSA surveillance. CONCLUSIONS: Postdiagnosis PSA surveillance is common, although not universal. African American men were at significantly greater risk for receiving less frequent testing compared with Caucasian men. This disparity in access to care may explain, in part, previously observed racial differences in survival in prostate carcinoma. Further research is needed to identify the reasons for the racial disparity in PSA surveillance and to design interventions to lessen these differences.