Detecting lung cancer at its earliest stage

St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) now offers a new diagnostic tool that will make it easier to detect lung cancer at its earliest stage.

The Low Dose CT Scan Lung Cancer Screening is a quick 20-second scan of the chest and lungs that reveal abnormalities not seen by conventional chest x-ray machines.

The procedure is conducted using a low level of CT radiation dose, and effectively detects lung cancer before it can spread to other body parts and becomes difficult to treat.

The low-dose CT scan takes high-resolution pictures of the lungs, allowing detection of abnormal spots called "nodules" within the lungs. These nodules are usually too small to be seen on regular chest x-ray. No injections or medications are needed unless further chest CT is required.

Aside from lung cancer, the test will also show other lung abnormalities like old or new pneumonia, tuberculosis or emphysema.

The Low Dose CT Scan Lung Cancer Screening is part of SLMC’s commitment to provide patients with technologies that will give them much higher chances of survival without the hassles of traveling out of the country.

The screening also affords patients minimal time for the procedure, thus giving them opportunities to attend to their other equally important tasks.

Since symptoms of lung cancer often do not appear until the disease is advanced, only about 15 percent of lung cancer cases are found in the early stages before the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes or elsewhere.

The five-year survival rate for people with lung cancer is 60 percent if there is no evidence of cancer in lymph nodes at the time of surgery.

Many early lung cancers are diagnosed incidentally, meaning they are found as a result of tests that are conducted for an unrelated medical condition.

For example, a diagnosis may be made by imaging tests (such as a chest x-ray or chest CT scan), bronchoscopy (viewing the inside of bronchi through a flexible, lighted tube), or sputum cytology (microscopic examination of cells in coughed up phlegm) performed for other reasons in patients with heart disease, pneumonia or other lung conditions.

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths among Filipino men and the third most common cancer among Filipino women. It is often attributed to cigarette smoking, the leading risk factor for lung cancer.

Tobacco smoke causes more than eight out of 10 cases of lung cancer. The longer a person has been smoking and the more packs consumed, the greater the risk of incurring lung cancer.

Studies show that people who are exposed to second-hand smoke have higher chances of contracting lung cancer, just like if you have a family history of cancer, have been previously diagnosed with or treated for tuberculosis (TB), or are 60 years old and older.

People who don’t smoke but breathe the smoke of others also have a higher risk of incurring lung cancer. Non-smoking spouses of smokers, for example, have a 30 percent greater risk of developing lung cancer than the partners of non-smokers. Workers exposed to tobacco smoke in the workplace are also more likely to get lung cancer.

Initial screening results of the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP), a worldwide study group led by the New York Presbyterian/Weil Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, found that 80 percent of the lung cancers identified by low-dose screening CT were Stage IA (the most curable, best long-term survival stage). St. Luke’s Medical Center is the only participating member from the Philippines in this worldwide study group.

Annually, the World Health Organization (WHO) sponsors the "World No-Tobacco Day." The one-day May 31 event aims to call attention to the seriousness of the impact of tobacco on health and increase public awareness and action in the fight against the "tobacco disease" epidemic that has claimed almost five million lives (one in 10 adults) last year worldwide.

First held in 1988, the event emphasizes a spirit of worldwide cooperation to reduce tobacco-related deaths.

Studies show that if current smoking patterns continue, it will cause some 10 million deaths each year by 2020. Half of the people who smoke today — about 650 million people — will eventually be killed by tobacco.

The greatest risk factor for developing lung cancer is the smoking of cigarettes and tobacco-related products.

(To discuss lung cancer screening or for more information about Low Dose CT Scan Lung Cancer Screening, contact the St. Luke’s Wellness Center at 723-1206 or 723-0101 local 5527 or 5528.)