The National Lung Cancer Roundtable (NLCRT) held its 4th Annual Meeting: Forging the New Frontier of Lung Cancer Dec. 7–8, 2020, with over 700 registrants attending this year’s virtual meeting. NLCRT is led by Ella A. Kazerooni, MD, MS, Chair, Douglas E. Wood, MD, Vice Chair, and Robert A. Smith, PhD, Principal Investigator, along with their steering committee and staff members. The mission of NLCRT is to create lung cancer screening survivors. The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) and our members remain active and engaged in this work since its inception.
The meeting opened both days with patient survivor stories that help set the stage for the purpose of this important work. The conference featured Harry J. de Koning, MD, PhD, as the keynote speaker. Dr. de Koning, of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, is Principal Investigator of the Dutch-Belgian Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NELSON), which confirmed the findings of the National Lung Screening Trial of the mortality benefit of screening at-risk populations using low-dose CT screening. After 10 years of screening, NELSON found a 24% reduction in mortality. He is planning to investigate the safety of risk-based screening intervals. The two-day meeting format included a number of rapid-fire sessions with targeted messaging and activities of 2020 and future plans.
The meeting format spotlighted activities and strategic plans for its 10 Task Groups. Through these efforts, the Roundtable advances initiatives in the following areas:
- Advanced Imaging
- Lung Cancer in Women
- Lung Cancer Screening Implementation Strategies
- Policy Action
- Provider Engagement and Outreach
- Shared Decision Making
- State-Based Initiatives
- Survivorship, Stigma and Nihilism Task Group
- Tobacco Treatment in the Context of Lung Cancer Screening
- Triage for Appropriate Treatment
Meeting Highlights
- Early detection saves lives.
- Planned activities to engage American Academy of Family Physicians in Shared Decision Making and lung cancer screening.
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Final Recommendation for Lung Cancer Screening is expected in early 2021; the updated recommendation could nearly double the number of people eligible to be screened for lung cancer screening.
- The ACR Lung Cancer Screening Registry has been used to spearhead quality improvement and research efforts for lung cancer screening programs; registry provides a roadmap for further research and improved implementation.
- Providers and payers must be incentivized to offer lung cancer screening; Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set measure development and alignment with value-based payment, insurance premium and benefit design.
- Increase telehealth use across the continuum of lung cancer care.
- Create systems and infrastructure for sharing image data and/or algorithms.
- There is a need to develop educational materials for PCP/OB/GYN on the benefits of lung cancer screening in women.
- Missed opportunities in biomarker testing potentially prevent cancer patients from receiving therapies that can improve outcomes.
- Shared decision making training programs are essential to patients being screened.
- Health systems impact health outcomes across the cancer continuum.
- Identify policy strategies for improving control and care in lung cancer.
Top Resources
- 2020 Surgeon General's Reports on Smoking and Tobacco Use.
- Addressing Disparities in Lung Cancer Screening Eligibility and Healthcare Access.
- ACS Spring 2020 Webinar Series: Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalitions.
- State Variation in Low-Dose CT Scanning for Lung Cancer Screening in the United States.
- The Integral Role of the Electronic Health Record and Tracking Software in the Implementation of Lung Cancer Screening — A Call to Action to Developers.
- Go2 Foundation Partnership with Department of Veterans Affairs.
- ACR/NLCRT LCS Incidental Findings Quick Guide – coming soon.
- AMA Ed Hub Course: Lung Cancer and the Primary Care Provider – launching Jan. 2021.
The meeting sessions and recordings are available online. To learn more, visit the NLCRT website.