John B. Amos Cancer Center launches high-risk lung cancer screenings

3/06/2014

The John B. Amos Cancer Center at Columbus Regional Health in Columbus, Ga. has recently launched an initiative to screen people at high risk of developing lung cancer. The target screenings are for people aged 55-74 who have smoked at least a pack of cigarettes per day for 30 years or more and are currently smoking or stopped less than 15 years ago.

The National Cancer Institute published a landmark article in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2011 regarding low-dose CT scan lung cancer screenings. It found that CT scan screening can reduce lung cancer mortality by 20 percent in these high-risk patients. Most recently, in December 2013, a government panel also recommended CT screenings for people at high risk for lung cancer.

The Georgia Department of Public Health estimates approximately 23 percent of the Columbus population smokes—about 5 percent higher than the state average. In fact, 77 percent of the lung cancers diagnosed in the last two years at the Cancer Center have been Stage 3 or 4.

“We believe a program utilizing low-dose CT scans for lung cancer screening is important for our thoracic oncology program and critical to the health of our community,” said Peter A. Seirafi, M.D., Medical Director of Thoracic Surgery and Lung Cancer Screening Program at the John B. Amos Cancer Center. Dr. Seirafi leads a multidisciplinary team consisting of representatives from Thoracic Surgery, Medical Oncology, Radiology, Marketing, Patient Financial Services and Integrative Medicine who are committed to providing the latest options for earlier diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.

A plan was developed to follow up on all positive findings, including a review at an upcoming multidisciplinary thoracic oncology conference and a report to the patient with recommendations. For more information about the program or patient qualifications, please call (706) 320-8825, or visit www.columbusregional.com.