Introduction: Screening programmes are part of oncology secondary prevention, where we look for precancerous or incipient cancerous lesions with the simplest possible diagnostic tests. They are carried out in people who are at risk of developing a particular cancer. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide in terms of incidence and the most common cause of cancer death. Lung cancer screening programmes date back to the 1960s, when detection technology was limited to sputum cytology and lung X-ray. By using the low dose computed tomography (LDCT) technique in lung screening, the dose to the patient is lower than if imaging had been performed using a conventional lung imaging protocol. Purpose: The aims of this thesis are to investigate the inclusion and exclusion criteria for selecting patients to be included in the screening programme and to investigate the technical requirements for establishing such a programme in Slovenia. Methods: Since the topic has not been studied in Slovenia, our task was to introduce the topic to a wider population. The data were retrieved from the bibliographic databases COBISS, PubMed CENTRAL, Springer Link, Science Direct, Dikul, Medline and CHINALResults: In writing the thesis, we used 54 articles that systematically and illustratively describe the importance of screening with all technical features. Discussion and conclusion: We found that the CT protocol for thoracic imaging used at the Clinical Institute of Radiology, University Medical Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia, exceeds the imaging protocols reported by researchers in important European pilot studies. We have produced tables to show what the pathway would be for a subject from the initial phase of the programme to imaging with the LDCT protocol. Based on all the results and tables presented in the thesis, we concluded that we have enough high-throughput CT machines in Slovenia to implement the screening programme and that the programme could be launched in Slovenia, given the incidence and mortality rates.
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