Impact of organized lung screening in Canada

Screening participants

People may qualify for lung cancer screening if they meet the age criteria and the screening eligibility criteria. Depending on the eligibility criteria and screening frequency, implementing lung cancer screening would lead to 35,000-44,000 individuals screened for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) every year in Canada. Screening could detect 1,400-2,500 cases of lung cancer per year.

An optimal screening strategy would balance the benefits and harms of lung cancer screening by appropriately selecting individuals who would benefit from screening. The screening program may consider providing more frequent follow-up scans to those with higher risk of developing lung cancer and less frequent screening for those at lower risks.

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