Abstract

Brain metastasis (BM) is one of the most common metastases from primary lung cancer (PLC). Recently, the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) demonstrated the efficacy of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening on LC mortality reduction. However, it remains unknown if early detection of PLC through LDCT may be potentially beneficial in reducing the risk of subsequent metastases. Our study aimed to investigate the impact of LDCT screening for PLC on the risk of developing BM after PLC diagnosis.We used NLST data to identify 1,502 participants who were diagnosed with PLC in 2002-2009 and have follow-up data for BM. Cause-specific competing risk regression was applied to evaluate an association between BM risk and the mode of PLC detection-i.e., LDCT screen-detected versus non-LDCT screen-detected. Subgroup analyses were conducted in early-stage PLC patients and those who underwent surgery for PLC.Of 1502 participants, 41.4% had PLC detected through LDCT-screening versus 58.6% detected through other methods, e.g., chest X-Ray or incidental detection. Patients whose PLC was detected with LDCT-screening had a significantly lower 3-year incidence of BM (6.5%) versus those without (11.9%), with a cause-specific hazard ratio (HR) of 0.53 (p=0.001), adjusting for PLC stage, histology, diagnosis age and smoking status. This significant reduction in BM risk among PLCs detected through LDCT-screening persisted in subgroups of early-stage PLC participants (HR 0.47, p=0.002) and those who underwent surgery (HR 0.37, p=0.001).Early detection of PLC using LDCT-screening is associated with lower risk of BM after PLC diagnosis based on a large population-based study.

View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jtho.2021.05.010

View details for PubMedID 34091050