Study: CT scans reduce lung cancer deaths by 20% compared with X-rays

Screening smokers and ex-smokers with high-tech CT scans has been shown for the first time to significantly cut deaths from lung cancer, the leading cancer killer, federal health officials said Thursday. A long-awaited study of more than 53,000 middle-aged and elderly people who once smoked heavily or currently smoke heavily found 20 percent fewer deaths among those who underwent annual screening with a procedure known as low-dose helical computed tomography (CT), compared with those who had standard chest X-rays.