Deaths from lung cancer curtailed by screening test

The results of a significant eight-year study funded by the National Cancer Institute showed that screening current and former heavy smokers with low-dose computed tomography, or CT-scans, resulted in 20% fewer deaths from the disease compared with a standard chest X-ray.

It's the first time that a clear benefit has been shown for any form of lung-cancer screening, which is based on the assumption that finding tumors early allows patients to be treated before the cancer becomes deadly.