One of the challenges of the increased frequency of chest CT scans being done for screening of people at higher risk of lung cancer, or done more commonly for chest symptoms, is that lung nodules are very commonly found, but most the time they aren't cancer.  Most studies show that >90% of lung nodules are benign, but the majority lead to additional work-up, and in nearly 100% of cases, they cause anxiety for the patient. What if a blood test could help clarify the probability that someone doesn't have a lung cancer?

The most pivotal study supporting the value of screening for lung cancer is the National Lung cancer Screening Trial (NLST), which revealed a 20% improvement in overall survival in patients with sufficiently high risk of lung cancer and who underwent an annual chest CT scans vs. chest x-ray over a three year period.