Psychosocial consequences of lung cancer screening; early results from the Australian International Lung Screen Trial (ILST) cohort.

Background: Psychosocial impacts of lung cancer screening remain unclear. Few studies used condition-specific questionnaires. Aim: To describe short-term psychosocial impacts of screening among an Australian high-risk cohort participating in lung cancer screening using a condition-specific questionnaire. Method: Australian ILST (NCT02871856) participants were invited to this study. The Danish Consequences Of Screening Lung Cancer (COS-LC) questionnaire is a valid condition-specific questionnaire which has been translated and validated in our Australian ILST cohort. COS-LC was administered before screening, one month after baseline results, and at intervals dependent on ILST protocols. Participants were split according to LDCT category (CAT1=normal findings, CAT2=low malignancy risk, CAT3=moderate malignancy risk, CAT4=high malignancy risk, and CAT5=suspicious for lung cancer). We present pre-screening and post baseline LDCT results. Results: 1129 participants had a median age of 63; 80% were male. CAT1, CAT2, CAT3, CAT4, and CAT5 comprised of 79%, 12%, 6%, 1%, and 2% of the cohort respectively. There was no significant difference in mean score between groups pre-screening. After baseline results, there was no statistically significant difference in change between the CAT mean scores, other the “empathy” scale. CAT3-5 had an increase, suggesting increased impact on empathy for others, whereas CAT2 had a decrease (CAT1 reference). Conclusion: Early results demonstrate no significant difference in psychosocial impacts between ISLT category groups in the period immediately following the screening. CAT4 and CAT5 groups had limited numbers.