Millions more former smokers must be regularly screened for lung cancer, American Cancer Society says

• Previously, it was for smokers aged 55-74 with at least a 30-pack-year history
• Now, those aged 50-80 with at least a 20-pack-year history are included
• READ MORE: Tragic victims of America’s young colon cancer epidemic

Almost five million more people are being recommended to get screened for lung cancer.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) extended its guideline for annual lung cancer screening to encompass older people who smoke or used to smoke, regardless of how long ago they stopped.

Now, everyone aged 50 to 80 with at least a 20-pack-year smoking history (the equivalent to smoking a pack a day for 20 years) should be screened for lung cancer, no matter how long ago they stopped smoking. 

Previously, the ACS advised annual lung cancer screening for adults aged 55 to 74 with at least a 30-pack-year smoking history who either still smoke or quit less than 15 years ago.

Pack-year history is the number of years a person smoked multiplied by the number of packs they smoked a day. A pack contains 20 cigarettes. 

Someone would have a 20-year pack history if they smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for 10 years, or one pack a day for 20 years. 

Dr William Dahut, chief scientific officer for the American Cancer Society, told CNN: ‘I think the years quit was confusing to people.’

He said: ‘First of all, lung cancer is a disease of the elderly, and so, basically, your risk starts becoming greatest once you’re in your 60s, which was probably during this time period when people were stopping to be screened. 

‘Over time, we now see that the risk continues for men and women in their 60s and above, and so that is exactly the time when you should be screening because that’s when their cancer risk is actually the highest.’

Lung cancer cases in women set to overtake men in the UK 

Cancer Research UK now wants women to be as ‘vigilant’ for symptoms of the killer disease as they are for breast cancer. 

It is the first time the ACS guidelines have been updated in 10 years, and the organization estimated that 21 percent more lung deaths will be prevented due to the change.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the US. It is detected using a low-dose computed tomography scan (CT scan).

One in six people will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime, and more than 127,000 lives are lost annually. 

A recent report by the ACS found that young women are suffering higher rates of lung cancer than men. 

Men were nearly twice as likely as women to develop the disease in the 1980s, driven by higher smoking rates and workplace exposure to substances like asbestos.

But with declining cigarette use and safety regulations, the pattern has flipped, with young and middle-aged women now being diagnosed with the disease at higher rates than men.

There were around 65 new cases of lung cancer for every 100,000 people in 1992 and by 2019 this had come down to about 42.

Despite the progress, a disparity among sexes is emerging, with women between the ages of 35 and 54 being diagnosed with lung cancer at higher rates than men in that same age group.

Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of lung cancer, and while there have been huge drops in overall smoking rates, women have been slower to quit.

By sex, about 67,000 men die from lung cancer every year compared to 59,910 women.

Deaths from lung cancer have, however, been trending downward since the 1980s amid wider awareness of the health risks posed by cigarettes.

About 20 percent of US adults smoked in 2005, surveillance suggests, but in 2021 this had fallen to 11.5 percent.

In some areas of the US, such as New York City, smoking has now virtually disappeared.

It is unclear whether the vaping epidemic will drive rates of lung cancer back up.

But several studies are now suggesting those puffing on the devices have a higher risk of the disease.

In 1980, the lung cancer rate among men was 52.4 per 100,000 people. For women, however, the rate was 28.4 per 100,000.