High-Risk Smokers Should Get Imaging Scans, Panel Says
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Ten million high-risk smokers aged 55 and older should get imaging scans each year to detect lung cancer when it is small and can be treated, according to new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
Lung malignancies are the No. 1 cancer killer in the U.S., accounting for more than one in every four cancer deaths each year. While breast and prostate malignancies are both more common, they are less deadly, according to the American Cancer Society. Screening for lung tumors, done properly, could save 20,000 lives each year, said Virginia Moyer, chair of the panel.