Lung cancer screening: a literature review

Objectives: Critical analysis of Literature on Lung Cancer Screening, synthesis and balance between scientific evidence and real world applicability. Methodology: selection of the most relevant clinical trials on the topic. Results: the most representative and positive studies (NLST, NELSON and MILD) have been examined and discussed, pointing out their limits and unsolved issues. Conclusion: despite clear statistically positive and encouraging results, many concerns still remain about routine implementation in the real world, mainly on the costs, the need for expert and trained dedicated radiologists and technicians, the theorical advantage of shifting resources to smoking cessation programs, the possible next integration of new biological and genetic diagnostic tools.