Fresh air for lung cancer: the latest recommendations & treatment

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By far, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. In fact, each year, more people die from lung cancer than colon, breast and prostate cancers combined. Yet despite grave statistics, new recommendations for early detection and cutting-edge treatments are providing a breath of fresh air – and hope – for lung cancer patients and families.

The American Cancer Society estimates there have been more than 159,000 lung cancer deaths in the United States in 2013. In attempts to shrink that number, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently issued a draft recommendation for annual low-dose CT scan screenings of individuals at high risk for lung cancer.

Who should be screened for lung cancer? The USPSTF advises that current and former smokers, age 55 to 80, undergo annual CT screenings for lung cancer if they have a smoking history equivalent to smoking one pack per day for 30 years, or two packs per day for 15 years.

People at high risk for lung cancer don’t have to wait for the USPSTF’s recommendation to take effect to be screened. Novant Health Cancer Center and other forward-thinking healthcare organizations are collaborating in a worldwide clinical trial called International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP). This trial enables high-risk patients at these organizations to receive CT screenings to determine how healthy their lungs are, while simultaneously helping physician researchers establish standard screening guidelines that promote early detection. The program’s ultimate goal is to increase lung cancer’s cure rate by detecting lung cancer in its earliest and most treatable stages.

If a patient’s CT screening for lung cancer appears abnormal, physicians recommend further testing to ensure an accurate diagnosis. The most cutting-edge and minimally invasive diagnosis technique utilizes a surgical robot system to assist in biopsying the suspected lung(s). If the biopsy comes back positive for lung cancer, the surgical robot system can also assist surgeons during tumor removal.

Though using robots during surgery once sounded like scenes from futuristic sci-fi movies, today it’s a local reality. The Novant Health Robotics Center has performed more than 4,000 robotic surgeries using the acclaimed da Vinci Surgical System and boasts the second-highest volume rates in the mid-Atlantic. Last year, Novant Health robotics-trained surgeons completed 700 robotic cases in a wide range of specialties, with hysterectomies and prostatectomies being the most frequent procedures.

During robot-assisted surgeries, tech-savvy surgeons maneuver foot pedals and joystick controls while focusing on the patient’s magnified image, displayed on a 3-D, high-definition screen. Each movement by the surgeon enables interactive, mechanical arms that hold forceps, scissors and other instruments to move precisely. The latest generation in robotic systems also features near-infrared technology to accurately distinguish between cancerous and healthy tissue.

Even more remarkable is the lengthy list of patient benefits from robot-assisted surgery, which includes smaller incisions, more precision, less blood loss, less pain, less trauma for tissues and organs, improved outcomes, lower rates of complication, shorter hospital stays and quicker recoveries.

“Traditional lung surgery required spreading the ribs and a 6-inch incision; with the robots, patients receive only four incisions, each as small as a ballpoint pen’s tip (about 1 cm), and ribs remain intact,” said Charles Harr, MD, thoracic surgeon at Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute. “Every case I’m able to use the da Vinci Surgical System positively and dramatically changes a patient’s life.”

Novant Health is committed to providing patients with world-class technology, clinicians and care. Now with state-of-the-art technology and forward-thinking screenings, lung cancer patients and their families can take deeper breaths of hope and healing when considering the future.

If you think you are at risk for lung cancer and may be a candidate for a low-dose CT screening, fill out our online form today. One of our cancer clinical trial coordinators will call you back.