Abstract Rationale Lung cancer screening with low dose computed tomography (LDCT) has been shown to reduce lung cancer mortality, however uptake remains low with only 16% of eligible patients currently up to date with screening in the United States. Screening blood tests are being developed to inform patients about their risk of lung cancer to expand screening efforts. We undertook this study to evaluate patient preferences regarding CT based screening vs blood test based screening. In addition, we evaluated whether presence of respiratory symptoms influenced patient attitudes towards screening. Methods A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted of a national research consumer panel. Respondents were screened for inclusion if they were 50 years old, had a 20+ pack-year smoking history and no prior diagnosis of lung cancer. Respondent demographic information and response to survey questions were summarized using descriptive statistics. Results The survey link was sent to 49,500 subjects aged 50 years old, with 4,462 respondents. After excluding ineligible subjects and those with incomplete data, a convenience sample of 1004 subjects were included in the final analysis. Respondents were 41% male, 49% currently smoked, with an average age of 64, and mean pack year history of 41. When asked to compare screening test preference, 44% preferred a blood test, 29% were indifferent, and 22% preferred a CT scan. The majority of respondents (73%) reported willingness to get a blood test to screen for lung cancer. More than half of respondents reported one or more respiratory associated symptoms, most commonly shortness of breath (30%), coughing up phlegm (28%) and persistent cough (17%). Respondents with 2+ symptoms were more receptive to the blood test than those with 2 symptoms (82% vs 65%). They were also more willing to follow up with annual blood testing if their initial test is negative (67% vs 56%). Shortness of breath and hoarseness were found to be major drivers of willingness to undergo a blood test for lung cancer screening. Conclusion The development of a blood-based test for lung cancer has the potential to increase screening rates. The majority of participants were willing to undergo a screening blood test and preferred a blood test over a CT scan. Those with symptoms were more willing to undergo blood test screening. This abstract is funded by: Nucleix
Ezuma et al. (Fri,) studied this question.