Annual Spiral Computed Tomography (CT) Screening Can Detect Lung Cancer That Is Curable.

An Annual screening using spiral computed tomography (CT) may aid people with stage 1 lung cancer according to findings by a team of researchers. They set out to find the outcome among patients with clinical stage I cancer that is detected on annual screening using spiral computed tomography (CT) as it is is unknown previously.

The team study set in a large collaborative study, screened 31,567 asymptomatic persons at risk for lung cancer using low-dose CT from 1993 through 2005, and from 1994 through 2005, 27,456 repeated screenings were performed 7 to 18 months after the previous screening.
The team estimated the 10-year lung-cancer–specific survival rate among participants with clinical stage I lung cancer that was detected on CT screening and diagnosed by biopsy, regardless of the type of treatment received.
Screening resulted in a diagnosis of lung cancer in 484 participants. Of these participants, 412 (85%) had clinical stage I lung cancer, and the estimated 10-year survival rate was 88% in this subgroup (95% confidence interval [CI], 84 to 91).
Those among those who underwent surgical resection of clinical stage I cancer within 1 month, had a survival rate of 92% (95% CI, 88 to 95).he 8 participants with clinical stage I cancer who did not receive treatment died within 5 years after diagnosis.
New England Journal of Medicine (PDF)


COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
Contrast-enhanced CT angiography provides 3D datasets with excellent isotropic spatial resolution (sub-millimeter with current multidetector scanners) in very short scanning times. The lung parenchyma can be simultaneously evaluated and electrocardiographic gating allows for the study of cardiac function. 

On the other hand, CT offers only limited functional information (ie, flow) and requires iodinated contrast and ionizing radiation.(Source)