Lung Cancer Screening

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Content last updated 27/02/2025

Why is screening important?

Lung Cancer is the fifth most diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in Australia. Screening for lung cancer helps to detect the cancer at an earlier stage, leading to more effective treatment options and improved outcomes.

Early detection can improve life expectancy, quality of life and will reduce the number of patients needing treatment for advanced stage lung cancer (Department of Health and Aged Care (DoHAC), 2025).

What is the National Lung Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP)?

The National Lung Cancer Screening program aims to detect lung cancer early to support better health outcomes for Australians. Through early detection, the NCLSP will help prevent over 500 deaths from lung cancer each year (DoHAC, 2025). From July 2025, the NCLSP will use low-dose CT scans (LDCT) to check for cancer in the lungs of high-risk asymptomatic people. The NCLSP is a national population-based screening program which means it won’t cost you anything to participate if you are eligible.

Who should get screen screened?

The NLCSP is available for eligible people aged 50-70 years with no signs or symptoms of lung cancer. To be eligible for the program you will:

Be aged 50 to 70 years.
Show no sign or symptoms of lung cancer (be asymptomatic), to learn more about the symptoms of lung cancer you can visit the Cancer Council lung cancer page.

You will also need to:

Have a history of at least 30 pack-years of cigarette smoking and are still smoking, or
Have a history of at least 30 pack-years of cigarette smoking and quit in the last 10 years.

Pack-years are a measurement of the number of cigarettes a person has smoked. Your healthcare provider can help you calculate your pack-years, alternatively you can read the definition of pack-years here.

What is a low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) scan?

LDCT scans are like normal CT scans, they are quick and pain free. The difference is that LDCT scans have less radiation, this allows for regular screening. Regular Screening is important as it monitors changes to your body over time (CDC, 2024).