Massachusetts #1 in nation for lung cancer screening, surgery, early diagnosis, report shows

Massachusetts is the top state in the country for lung cancer screening, early diagnosis and surgery, according to an annual report from the American Lung Association.

“Massachusetts is a leader in health care and the new report shows nothing different,” said Trevor Summerfield, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts ranked first in the country in several categories when it comes to lung cancer, including early diagnosis which can be crucial in treating cancer before it progresses to a later stage.

The Bay State ranked first in early diagnosis at 30% whereas nationally, only 24.5% of cases are diagnosed at an early stage when survival rates are much higher.

Cancer screening is also vital to positive outcomes, and Massachusetts ranked first in screening at nearly 18% of cases. Lung cancer screening for those at high risk can reduce the death rate by up to 20%. Nationally, only 5.7% of those at high risk were screened.

Lung cancer can often be treated with surgery at early stages and nationally about 20% of cases underwent surgery, whereas Massachusetts topped that rate at 30% of lung cancer cases that underwent surgery.

Summerfield told the Herald that in general, things are looking up for people who have lung cancer or who might be at high risk of getting it.

He said Massachusetts did well on the report because of good, clean air quality in the state and excellent tobacco control programs such as the recent ban on menthol cigarettes.

Tobacco use is the leading risk factor for lung cancer, accounting for 80% to 90% of cases.

There are still important areas of improvement to work on, though. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Massachusetts are getting left behind and are 31% less likely than white Americans to be diagnosed early when lung cancer is most treatable, according to the report.

“Ensuring that everyone in every community has access to quality and affordable health care is critically important if we want to save lives,” Summerfield said.

Nationally, people of color who are diagnosed with lung cancer face worse outcomes compared with white Americans, and even though the national five-year survival rate increased from 14.5% to 23.7%, that rate is only 20% in communities of color.

Screening eligibility is expanding, though, and will increase the number of women and Black Americans who can be checked.

About every two and a half minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with lung cancer, and every day lung cancer takes 382 lives.