Across the quintiles of lung cancer risk studied in the NLST, those considered to have experienced a probable benefit from screening varied from 5,276 in the lowest-risk group to 161 in the highest-risk group. Similarly, when considering the NLST’s benefit-to-harm ratio across the quintiles from lowest to highest, the number of false-positive results per lung cancer–related death prevented varied from 1,648 false-positive results per prevented death to 65, respectively, he said.
Screening protocols for patients in the low-risk group should receive a grade C from the USPSTF, which means the service should be offered selectively only, according to Dr. Bach.
"Screening should not be mandated for insurance coverage in the low-risk population. Neither should doctors and patients be told that it is definitely a good idea for everyone, nor should it become a quality standard for doctors, hospitals, and insurance plans, which are all things that could happen with this "B" recommendation," Dr. Bach said in an interview.
Dr. Bach was the lead author of practice guidelines issued jointly in 2013 by the American College of Chest Physicians and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Those guidelines, which are based mostly on the NLST, state that individuals aged 55-74 years who have at least a 30 pack-year smoking history should be screened with LDCT. The American Cancer Society has also endorsed lung cancer screening recommendations based on the same protocols as the ACCP and ASCO (CA Cancer J. Clin. 2013;63:107-17).
"I support the task force’s role in the crafting of essential health benefits absolutely," Dr. Bach said. "But I think their power now to create mandates means they should up their game."