WCLC 2025 - Posters & ePosters-P1.17.04 Prioritizing Lung Cancer Screening in Middle-Income Countries: A Feasibility-Need Framework to Guide Implementation

P1.17.04 Prioritizing Lung Cancer Screening in Middle-Income Countries: A Feasibility-Need Framework to Guide Implementation

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The presentation focuses on lung cancer screening (LCS) implementation in middle-income countries (MICs), highlighting that MICs bear the heaviest global burden of lung cancer, accounting for 68% of lung cancer deaths. Despite this, no MIC has a nationwide organized lung cancer screening program. MICs are subdivided into upper-middle-income countries (UMICs) and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs), with incomes ranging from $1,146 to $13,845 per capita. As income rises, so do tobacco use and lung cancer deaths.<br /><br />The burden of lung cancer correlates strongly with income, tobacco use, and lung cancer mortality rates. Population size, disease burden, and existing infrastructure readiness vary significantly among UMICs, LMICs, and low-income countries (LICs), influencing the feasibility of screening programs. Countries vary in their level of LCS implementation: from none, through research and pilot programs, up to regional and national programs.<br /><br />Five key steps are recommended to implement lung cancer screening in MICs effectively: integrating LCS into national non-communicable disease (NCD) and cancer plans; launching national education campaigns to dispel stigma and emphasize that lung cancer can affect non-smokers; investing in CT scanners, radiologists, and the wider healthcare workforce; expanding screening eligibility beyond smokers to include individuals with family history and other risk factors; and introducing publicly funded screening programs with national guidelines.<br /><br />Priority countries for impact include Türkiye, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brazil, and several Balkan states, all showing significant age-standardized lung cancer mortality rates. The presentation underscores the urgent need for policy action, health system strengthening, and public education to reduce lung cancer mortality through effective screening programs in MICs.

Asset Subtitle

Hamida Petrovic

Meta Tag

Speaker Hamida Petrovic

Topic Global Health, Health Services, and Health Economics

Keywords

lung cancer screening

middle-income countries

lung cancer mortality

tobacco use

upper-middle-income countries

lower-middle-income countries

non-communicable diseases

CT scanners

public health policy

screening eligibility