WHO: Douglas E. Wood, MD, from the University of Washington in Seattle, is a world-renowned surgeon in thoracic oncology.Dr. Wood is a national and international leader in the management of lung and esophageal cancer. He has used that expertise to help secure Medicare coverage of low-dose computed tomography lung cancer screening for at risk-populations in his roles as Chair of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Lung Cancer Screening Panel and Vice-Chair of the NCCN Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Panel. Dr. Wood also has represented The Society of Thoracic Surgeons on the Lung Cancer Guidelines panel of the American College of Chest Physicians.
WHY: The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) revised recommendations for lung cancer screening—more than doubling the number of US adults eligible for annual scans.
With this more inclusive criteria, eligibility is expected to increase from 6.4 million adults to 14.5 million and open the door for screening more women and blacks—both of whom tend to develop lung cancer earlier than white men and after less tobacco exposure.
Dr. Wood is available to speak with the media about the new guidelines and their impact on patients and the future of lung cancer screening.
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