Mass. leads nation in screening for lung cancer
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The Chicago headquarters of the American Lung Association
Massachusetts tops the country in screening high-risk patients for lung cancer and leads all states in how many lung cancer cases undergo surgery, according to a new report by the American Lung Association.
In Massachusetts, 12.3% of at-risk residents — those who smoke or have smoked, for example — are screened for lung cancer, the association's Nov. 13 report said. That nearly triples the national average of 4.3% and puts Massachusetts among only four states over 10%.
Massachusetts also tallied 30.5% of diagnosed lung cancers treated with surgery, compared to 20.6% nationally. The state can tout the nation's second best rate of lung cancers diagnosed at an early stage: 26.7%, behind only Wyoming.
Massachusetts has among the nation's lowest smoking rates to begin with. The state's rate of 13.7% of adults who say they smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is seventh best in the country.
Nationally, odds of surviving lung cancer have improved dramatically. The five-year survival rate is 21.7%, according to the American Lung Association, up from 17.2% a decade ago. The rate for Massachusetts was not available.
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