Interestingly, in the Sigma Xi news bulletin yesterday there were two
items on lung cancer -- the one you noted, plus one that was more
encouraging. Here are both:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
from Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society

Today's Headlines - March 7, 2007

Researchers Dispute Benefits of CT Scans for Lung Cancer

from the New York Times (Registration Required)

Lung cancer screening with CT scans does not appear to save lives and
exposes people to serious risks of injury and even death from needless
surgery, researchers are reporting today.

The results are a disappointment, the researchers say. Lung cancer is
the
leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women and kills more
Americans
than the four next most deadly cancers combined. For decades, cancer
specialists have hoped to show that early detection and treatment can
save
lives.

The first efforts, using chest X-rays, were disappointing. But many
hoped
that the more sensitive CT scans could find cancers early enough to
make a
difference. "When we took this study on, we were expecting that CT
might do
the job where chest X-rays couldn't," said Dr. Peter B. Bach, the
study's
lead author and a lung specialist and epidemiologist at Memorial
Sloan-
Kettering Cancer Center in New York. But, Dr. Bach added, his hopes
were
dashed.

To read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/health/07lung.html

Or: http://tinyurl.com/yt8jfg

...

Lung Cancer Screening Test Called Exciting

from the Chicago Tribune (Registration Required)

Scientists may be close to being able to predict who will develop lung
cancer, a development that could prevent tens of thousands of deaths a
year
in the U.S.

Using a molecular test called a microarray, a research team from
Boston
University has come up with an 80-gene "signature" that can identify
lung
cancer in smokers at a very early stage. More important, the team
showed
that it is possible to detect precancerous changes in normal tissue.

"It's like a molecular Pap smear," said Dr. Avrum Spira, who led the
investigation. ...His preliminary study appears in this month's issue
of
the journal Nature Medicine. The next step, Spira said, is a large
clinical
trial "to get FDA approval for an early detection tool."

To read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-
0703070076mar07,1,6508711.story

Or: http://tinyurl.com/yrmyhk

********************************************************************

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bob