Online Program Increases Lung Cancer Screening Rates

FRIDAY, Oct. 24, 2025 (HealthDay News) — More folks might get screened for lung cancer if they’re given the tools to educate themselves and make their own decisions, a new study says.

An online education program led to increased lung cancer screenings among a group of current and former smokers, researchers reported Oct. 20 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Nearly 25% of patients using this online program completed a CT scan to screen for lung cancer, compared to 17% of patients approached in the usual way about screening, the study found.

“Our study shows that reaching patients directly with digital tools can help overcome barriers to lung cancer screening and potentially save lives,” the study’s corresponding author, Dr. David Miller, said in a news release. He’s a professor of implementation science at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer in the U.S. and the world, researchers noted.

Early detection through screening can catch cancers at an earlier, more treatable stage, but fewer than 20% of eligible Americans are screening for lung cancer each year, researchers said in background notes.

People might not be getting screened because they don’t know about it or don’t know if they qualify, researchers said. They also might not have time to chew it over with their doctor, due to rushed office visits.

“Our goal was to address these barriers by testing a digital program that reaches patients directly, outside of traditional clinical encounters,” Miller said.

The new program, called mPATH-Lung, provides patients with a short educational video about CT scans for lung cancer screening, as well as an online tool to help them weigh the benefits and risks. At the end, patients could directly request a screening appointment online.

Researchers compared this against usual care, in which patients are advised that they qualify for lung cancer screening and directed to speak with their primary care doctor.

To test these approaches, researchers randomly assigned more than 1,300 current and former smokers to one or the other.

The digital approach increased screening rates across the board, researchers found.

“By empowering individuals with information and easy access to screening, we can make a real difference in early detection of lung cancer,” Miller said.

Researchers noted that this approach could be adapted to other preventive health services, such as colon cancer screenings or vaccinations.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual lung cancer screening for people who:

• Have a 20 pack-year or more smoking history. A pack-year is smoking an average of one pack of cigarettes a day for one year.

• Currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years.

• Are between 50 and 80 years old.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on lung cancer screening.

SOURCE: Wake Forest University, news release, Oct. 20, 2025

What This Means For You

Current or former smokers should ask their doctor if they’re eligible for lung cancer screening.