American college of chest physicians (ACCP) issued new guidelines on screening, preventing, staging and coping with cancer. These guidelines were published as a supplement to the special edition of the journal “Chest”, reviewed journal of ACCP.
The recommendations were rigorously developed and reviewed by 100 multidisciplinary panel members, including pulmonologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, thoracic surgeons, integrative medicine specialists, oncology nurses, pathologists, health-care researchers, and epidemiologists. The guidelines were further reviewed and approved by the ACCP Thoracic Oncology Network, the Health and Science Policy Committee, the Board of Regents, and external reviewers from the journal Chest.
The guidelines have been endorsed by the American Association for Bronchology, American Association for Thoracic Surgery, American College of Surgeons Oncology Group, American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, Asian Pacific Society of Respirology, Oncology Nurses Society, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and the World Association of Bronchology.
Lung cancer statistics:
Lung cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in United States. All the other 4 major cancers, colon, breast, pancreas and prostate, are causing less number of deaths than lung cancer. Lung cancer is responsible for 30% cancer deaths in men while it is at 26% in women. Tobacco use is the major cause for lung cancer.
1. Lung cancer screening: The ACCP advises against low-dose Computed Tomography (CT) scanning or chest X-rays to screen for lung cancer. Nodules are commonly found during screening. But to determine whether these nodules are cancerous or not requires additional testing which is invasive and expensive. This may cause risk for patient both physiologically and psychologically. Population screening for lung cancer may put patient at risk for further complications.
Electro stimulation wristbands are not recommended for managing chemo-induced nausea/vomiting, as studies show that they do little to delay nausea/vomiting compared with placebo.
