UPSTF proposes changes to lung cancer screenings to include more Black people, women

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which advises the federal government on preventive care, has issued a draft recommendation to update lung cancer screening guidelines to capture more people who might be at risk of developing the disease. Specifically, the proposal includes lowering the age at which to begin screening from 55 to 50, and also reduces the number of "pack years" — one pack year is the equivalent of smoking an average of 20 cigarettes, or one pack, per day for a year — from 30 down to 20. These changes are likely to catch other vulnerable populations at risk of developing cancer, especially women and Black people, experts say. "By exposing more individuals who are at high risk to the opportunity to be screened means we can save more lives,” physician Mara Antonoff tells STAT.