Assessing disparities in lung cancer screening eligibility among high-risk individuals.

10563 Background: Low-dose computerized tomography (LDCT) scanning confers a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality by diagnosing the disease at earlier, more treatable stages. Racial/ethnic minorities have historically been less likely to be eligible for lung cancer screening. In 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) updated its 2013 guideline for lung cancer screening eligibility by reducing the minimum age (55 to 50) and decreasing the cumulative number of cigarette pack-years smoked (30 to 20). The purpose of this study was to assess if the updated guideline will mitigate disparities in lung cancer screening eligibility among high-risk individuals. Methods: Data were obtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2017-2019), a population-based survey administered annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only subjects with complete information on the variables used to determine eligibility (age, smoking status, age at first start smoking, age at last smoked, average number of cigarettes smoked each day) (n = 793,537) were included in the final analysis. Logistic regression was used to model the association between predictors and 2021 vs. 2013 lung cancer screening eligibility. Results: Based on the 2013 guideline, Non-Hispanic Blacks (OR: 0.34; 95%CI: 0.31 - 0.38), Hispanics (OR: 0.12; 95%CI: 0.10 – 0.14), and other racial/ethnic minorities (OR: 0.59; 95%CI: 0.54 – 0.64) were less likely to be eligible for lung cancer screening than Non-Hispanic Whites. Using the 2021 guideline, Non-Hispanic Blacks (OR: 0.45; 95%CI: 0.42 - 0.49), Hispanics (OR: 0.15; 95%CI: 0.13 – 0.16), and other racial/ethnic minorities (OR: 0.63; 95%CI: 0.58 – 0.67) remain less likely to be eligible for lung cancer screening than Non-Hispanic Whites. Conclusions: The 2021 guideline slightly reduces racial/ethnic disparities in lung cancer screening eligibility. Further efforts should be made to develop a guideline that better addresses disparities in lung cancer screening eligibility to reduce lung cancer deaths in racial minorities.