Screening for lung cancer in Malaysia: are we there yet?

3 BACKGROUND The recently published (New England Journal of Medicine August 2011) preliminary results of the multi center randomized North American National Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NLCST) demonstrated for the first time a significant reduction in disease specific mortality with screening for lung cancer with spiral computed tomography (CT). The landmark findings of this trial mandates serious consideration for instituting lung cancer screening here in Malaysia, where disease prevalence is high, resection rates low and outcomes poor due to a majority of patients presenting with advanced disease. This commentary reviews the key evidence for screening and discusses the relative merits of screening for lung cancer in Malaysia.