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In the recent National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), low-dose computed tomography (CT) outperformed chest radiography for lung cancer screening (JW Gen Med Jul 14 2011). Now researchers have conducted a systematic review of 8 randomized trials and 13 cohort studies of low-dose CT. Only three randomized trials — the NLST and two similar (but much smaller) trials — reported on mortality reduction; the total enrollment was about 60,000 current or former smokers who were followed for a median of about 3 to 7 years. The NLST found a 20% relative reduction in lung cancer death with three annual CT screenings; the number needed to screen to prevent one lung cancer death was about 320. The other two trials showed no mortality reduction.
When data fro…