Perceptions of Lung Cancer Risk and Beliefs in Screening Accuracy of Spiral Computed Tomography among High-Risk Lung Cancer Family Members

Sinicrope, Pamela S.; Rabe, Kari G.; Brockman, Tabetha A.; Patten, Christi A.; Petersen, Wesley O.; Slusser, Joshua; Yang, Ping; Swensen, Stephen J.; Edell, Eric S.; de Andrade, Mariza; Petersen, Gloria M.

doi:10.1016/j.acra.2010.04.003

« Previous Next »Academic Radiology
Volume 17, Issue 8 , Pages 1012-1025, August 2010

Perceptions of Lung Cancer Risk and Beliefs in Screening Accuracy of Spiral Computed Tomography among High-Risk Lung Cancer Family Members

Pamela S. Sinicrope, DrPh
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, 200 First Street SW, Charlton 6-271, Rochester, MN 55905
- Department of Behavioral Health Research Program, Mayo Clinic Rochester, 200 First Street SW, Charlton 6-271, Rochester, MN 55905
- Address correspondence to: P.S.S.
Kari G. Rabe, MS
- Department of Health Science Research, Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo Clinic Rochester, 200 First Street SW, Charlton 6-271, Rochester, MN 55905
Tabetha A. Brockman, MA
- Department of Behavioral Health Research Program, Mayo Clinic Rochester, 200 First Street SW, Charlton 6-271, Rochester, MN 55905
Christi A. Patten, PhD
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, 200 First Street SW, Charlton 6-271, Rochester, MN 55905
- Department of Behavioral Health Research Program, Mayo Clinic Rochester, 200 First Street SW, Charlton 6-271, Rochester, MN 55905
Wesley O. Petersen, PhD
- Department of Oncology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, 200 First Street SW, Charlton 6-271, Rochester, MN 55905
Joshua Slusser
- Department of Health Science Research, Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo Clinic Rochester, 200 First Street SW, Charlton 6-271, Rochester, MN 55905
Ping Yang, MD, PhD
- Department of Health Science Research, Division of Epidemiology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, 200 First Street SW, Charlton 6-271, Rochester, MN 55905
Stephen J. Swensen, MD
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, 200 First Street SW, Charlton 6-271, Rochester, MN 55905
Eric S. Edell, MD
- Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Mayo Clinic Rochester, 200 First Street SW, Charlton 6-271, Rochester, MN 55905
Mariza de Andrade, PhD
- Department of Health Science Research, Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo Clinic Rochester, 200 First Street SW, Charlton 6-271, Rochester, MN 55905
Gloria M. Petersen, PhD
- Department of Health Science Research, Division of Epidemiology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, 200 First Street SW, Charlton 6-271, Rochester, MN 55905

Received 20 January 2010; accepted 8 April 2010.

Rationale and Objectives

Spiral computed tomography (SCT) is being evaluated as a screening tool for lung cancer. Our objective was to describe the effect of participation in SCT screening on participants' risk perceptions, worry, and expectations regarding the accuracy of the screening result.

Materials and Methods

We surveyed 60 individuals with lung cancer family history who were participating in an SCT study for the primary purpose of improving genetic linkage analysis at baseline, and then 1 and 6 months post-SCT.

Results

Of the 60 participants, 40 received normal results, 19 received non-negative results requiring follow-up, and 1 was diagnosed with lung cancer. At baseline, participants reported high levels of perceived lung cancer risk (64%), were concerned about developing lung cancer (94%), and the majority (84%) were not OK with receiving a non-negative SCT result when they really didn't have cancer. At 1 month post-SCT, those with a non-negative screen (n = 19) had lowered their expectations of test accuracy regarding non-negative results (54%) and reported increased levels in worry/concern (100%) and perceived risk (75%), but these effects diminished over time and returned almost to baseline levels at 6 months.

Conclusions

Persons at very high empiric risk for lung cancer expect their SCT screening test to be accurate and present with high levels of lung cancer risk perception and worry/concern overall. Our findings suggest a need for risk counseling and discussion on the limitations of screening tests to accurately detect lung cancer.

Key Words: Spiral computed tomography, lung cancer, screening, psychosocial oncology