A study of the new guidelines issued by the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) designed to address disparities that may exclude large numbers of high-risk African American smokers and other minority groups may have led to no improvement in racial disparities. The study was published in Radiology on September 21, 2021.

Dr. Anand Narayan and his team found, “Under previous guidelines, 11% of 67 567 weighted survey respondents were eligible for LCS (White [12%], Hispanic [4%], African American [7%], American Indian [17%], Asian or Pacific Islander [4%], and other [12%]). Under revised USPSTF guidelines, 14% of 77 689 weighted survey respondents were eligible for LCS (White [15%], Hispanic [5%], African American [9%], American Indian [21%), Asian or Pacific Islander [5%], and other [18%]). Compared with White respondents, African American respondents (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.36; 95% CI: 0.27, 0.47; P < .001) and Hispanic respondents (adjusted OR = 0.15; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.24; P < .001) were less likely to be eligible for LCS under previous guidelines. African American respondents (adjusted OR = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.32, 0.47; P < .001) and Hispanic respondents (adjusted OR = 0.15; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.23; P < .001) were less likely to be eligible under the revised guidelines."

They concluded that “[t]he revised U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines (version 2.0) may perpetuate lung cancer disparities, as racial and ethnic minority groups are still less likely to be eligible for lung cancer screening.”

Sources:

Anand K. Narayan, Divya N. Chowdhry, Florian J. Fintelmann, Brent P. Little, Jo-Anne O. Shepard, and Efrén J. Flores. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Lung Cancer Screening Eligibility. Radiology. Published online September 21, 2021. Accessed September 27, 2021, at https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2021204691

Yee, Kate. Do CT lung cancer screening rules promote healthcare disparities? AuntMinnie.com September 21, 2021. Accessed September 27, 2021, at https://www.auntminnie.com/index.aspx?sec=sup&sub=cto&pag=dis&ItemID=133524