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Pulmonary expert Dr. Albert J. Polito, The Lung Center at Mercy

Cat Scans For Lung Cancer Best Bet For Patients? Mercy's Dr. Albert Polito Discusses On WBAL-TV11's "Woman's Doctor"

A study that compared chest X-rays to CAT (Computerized Axial Tomography) scans to find out which one found lung cancer earlier and led to a greater chance of survival was stopped early because CAT scans were shown to be much better.

The study was sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and looked at 53,000 smokers and former smokers. One group of patients received annual chest X-rays while the other got yearly CAT scans.

According to Mercy Medical Center pulmonologist Dr. Albert Polito, Director, The Lung Center at Mercy, it's important to catch lung cancer early.

"About 75 percent of all lung cancers have already spread to other organs, and that's terrible because it is incurable at that point," he said.

Dr. Polito examined two different pictures of lungs from the same patient. One was taken with an X-ray and the other with a CAT scan.

"This is a normal chest X-ray," Dr. Polito said. "You wouldn't see anything unusual. This looks great."

But the patient actually had lung cancer, which the CAT scan picked up.

"That is not something that should be there," Dr. Polito said while looking at the scan, which showed Stage 1 cancer. "As early as possible he went for surgery, and he's doing great. The CAT scan probably saved his life."

But even though it's been proven that CAT scans save lives, the study hasn't been published yet.

"(When it is) the expert scientists, insurance companies and the government will weigh in on who should be screened because you have to think about the population who was looked at. This was not everybody. They were looking at smokers or ex-smokers," he said.

To view Dr. Polito's interview with WBAL-TV11, click this link: http://www.wbaltv.com/womansdoctor/26036892/detail.html.