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"Presence of Emphysema on CT Scans Increases Lung Cancer Risk"

  • Healio
  • (March 03, 2015)

Emphysema identified in low-dose CT scans increases the risk for lung cancer regardless of a patient’s smoking history, according to findings from the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program. Claudia I. Henschke, MD, PhD, clinical professor of radiology at The Mount Sinai Hospital, and colleagues evaluated the prevalence of lung cancer based on the presence of emphysema identified by CT scans for both high-risk and low-risk individuals. Researchers stratified findings by participants’ age and smoking history. “Our study demonstrated an increase in the prevalence of lung cancer among those who also had CT evidence of emphysema, thereby demonstrating the importance of identifying emphysema when interpreting a CT scan of the chest,” Henschke and colleagues wrote. Learn more.