2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) - Posters-P2.04B.06 Lung Cancer Screening Program in Serbia: A 3-year- Results and Challenges

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The lung cancer screening program in Serbia, conducted over three years from October 2020 to December 2023 at the Institute for Pulmonary Diseases of Vojvodina, aimed to detect lung cancer at early stages in high-risk individuals. The study involved subjects aged 50-74 years with a history of smoking and additional risk factors such as COPD, prior pneumonia, or family history of lung cancer, who underwent low-dose CT (LDCT) evaluations.<br /><br />Out of 5404 LDCT scans, 2892 subjects participated, with a larger proportion of females (58.9%) compared to males. Notably, more females were current smokers compared to males, and they had a more frequent history of lung cancer in the family and of other solid tumors. The study showed that emphysema was present in 31.2% of participants.<br /><br />The screening identified 9.4% positive Lung RADS scores, resulting in invasive diagnostics for 3.7% of participants, though 0.7% refused these procedures. The lung cancer detection rate was 2.3%, with 87% of these cases being non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 11% small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Impressively, over half of the detected cases were in stage I and II, indicating the program's success in early detection. There were significant differences between lung cancer stages at baseline and during follow-up, with a higher percentage of stage I detections during follow-up.<br /><br />The study concluded that early detection is crucial, with over 50% of lung cancer cases identified at an early stage. It highlighted the need for innovative approaches, enhanced education, and more robust campaigns to improve participation rates among individuals with negative initial LDCT results. This insight will help refine future lung cancer screening strategies in Serbia.

Asset Subtitle

Darijo Bokan

Meta Tag

Speaker Darijo Bokan

Topic Screening & Early Detection

Keywords

lung cancer screening

Serbia

early detection

high-risk individuals

low-dose CT

emphysema

Lung RADS

non-small cell lung cancer

stage I and II

screening strategies