Impact of organized lung screening in Canada

Impact on healthcare resources

Organized lung cancer screening requires additional healthcare resources (low-dose computed tomography scans, respirologist visits, surgeries, and smoking cessation interventions). The impact on healthcare resources depends on the eligibility criteria and number of screens offered to participants. The highest resource utilization was observed for annual screening using PLCO 1.5% risk criteria.

Overall, implementing an organized lung cancer screening program in Canada is unlikely to have a large impact on downstream resources, such as surgery.

Explore the interactive visualization below to learn more about the results of different screening strategies.