CCM-ITALUNG2 pilot on lung cancer screening in Italy: recruitment, integration with smoking cessation and baseline results.

backgroundThe CCM-ITALUNG2 pilot was implemented to evaluate the feasibility of an organized lung cancer (LC) screening programme in five Italian centres.

methodsThe screening pathway included invitation, recruitment, referral to Smoking Cessation Services (SCSs), and use of the Lung-RADS score for low-dose CT reading. Dedicated screening operators followed up participants from recruitment through the clinical follow-up established by multidisciplinary teams. Eligibility criteria included age 55-75 years, ever-smokers with ≥ 25 pack-years; quit within the past 10 years. Baseline round results are presented.

resultsFrom November 2022 to May 2024, 1,144 of the 1,971 invited individuals (58.0%) were recruited following different strategies including in-person invitation by general practitioners (GPs; 356 subjects, 31.9%) or other healthcare personnel (18.1%), self-presentation (36.3%), and phone invitation using GPs' patient lists (13.7%). Among current smokers, 38.5% accepted referral to SCSs. Eighteen subjects (77.8% in stage I-II) were diagnosed with LC (prevalent LC rate 1.57%). The mean time to surgery was 147 days (standard deviation 73); the false-positive rate was 1.38% (15/1,085).

conclusionsBy utilizing different organizational models, the pilot was tailored to the specific characteristics of each centre. Phone invitations from GPs' patient lists, in-person invitations by GPs and other healthcare personnel, and self-presentation might enhance equity of access in comparison with self-referral only. Dedicated screening operators, the use of the Lung-RADS scoring system, and a structured clinical follow-up supported participants throughout the screening pathway. Delivering brief advice for smoking cessation during recruitment and offering SCS referral were feasible within the screening pathway.