Cancer
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Randomized controlled trials of the efficacy of lung cancer screening by sputum cytology revisited: a combined mortality analysis from the Johns Hopkins Lung Project and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Lung Study.
: Two randomized controlled trials of lung cancer screening initiated in the 1970s, the Johns Hopkins Lung Project and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Lung Study, compared 1 arm that received annual chest X-ray and 4-monthly sputum cytology (dual-screen) to a second arm that received annual chest X-ray only. Previous publications from these trials reported similar lung cancer mortality between the 2 groups. However, these findings were based on incomplete follow-up, and each trial on its own was underpowered to detect a modest mortality benefit. ⋯ : These data are suggestive of a modest benefit of sputum cytology screening, although we cannot rule out chance as an explanation for these findings. Cancer 2009. (c) 2009 American Cancer Society.