Pairing mammography with lung cancer screening closes gaps: VUMC study

Lung cancer screening uptake increased when outreach coincided with mammography appointments, according to a study published Dec. 1 in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Researchers from Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center reviewed data from lung cancer screening outreach efforts implemented at two academic hospitals between Nov. 2019 and Dec. 2022.

Here are three things to know from the study:

1. Of 32,165 participants reviewed, 4.9% were found to be eligible for lung cancer screening. Of those women, 69% had never undergone lung cancer screening.
   
   
2. Each hospital employed different outreach efforts, including manual EHR review and on-site surveys in mammography settings regarding smoking history, as well as contacting eligible patients one month before their scheduled mammogram to offer lung cancer screening on the same day.
   
   
3. After these efforts were implemented, baseline lung cancer screenings increased from 12 and 28 per month to 18 and 38. 

Read the full study here.