The Prefectural Participation Rates of Lung Cancer Screening Had a Negative Correlation with the Lung Cancer Mortality Rates

Background: The participation rate is one of the most important indexes in the cancer screening. Historically in Japan, each local government has developed their own equations to calculate the subjects for population-based screening, which were different from each other, and therefore the participation rates of screening were not comparable. Recently, local governments were ordered to use the standardized equation in reporting data, which made it possible to compare the participation rates of cancer screening nationwide for the first time. We therefore investigated the correlation between the prefectural lung cancer mortality and several indicators of lung cancer screening.