Northwestern Launches Lung Screening for Chicago Firefighters
Northwestern Medicine will screen more than 300 firefighters from Chicago and DeKalb, Illinois for lung cancer.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Cancer
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Northwestern Medicine's Lung Health Center will screen more than 300 firefighters from Chicago and DeKalb, Illinois for lung cancer during Lung Cancer Awareness Month. The initiative targets a group facing occupational exposures linked to lung cancer risk.
Why it matters
Only 35% of patients treated for lung cancer would have qualified for screening under current USPSTF guidelines, and nearly two-thirds of those who would not have qualified were women or people who had never smoked. Firefighters face exposures to smoke, diesel exhaust, asbestos, benzene and silica that can increase lung cancer risk.
Nearly 1,000 participants were screened in the Lung Health Center's first year, with an average age of 56, and 54% had lung nodules or other findings warranting ongoing surveillance. Researchers estimate an age-based screening approach could detect 94% of lung cancers, but the long-term effect on the firefighter group has not yet been measured.
The players
Northwestern Medicine
Northwestern Medicine is the academic medical system of Northwestern University that operates hospitals and clinics across the Chicago area and runs the Lung Health Center.
Canning Thoracic Institute
The Canning Thoracic Institute is the Northwestern Medicine facility that houses the Lung Health Center and conducts its lung cancer screening research.
The details
The Lung Health Center screens participants regardless of whether they meet traditional CT screening criteria, and anyone over 21 is eligible for a free consultation that begins with a phone call. In its first year, six patients were diagnosed with early-stage cancers and successfully treated, and two patients with stage 1 lung cancer had never smoked.
Timeline
November 2025: Northwestern Medicine's Lung Health Center launched.
November 2026: Firefighter screening takes place during Lung Cancer Awareness Month.
Over the next five years: The research project aims to screen 10,000 individuals.
2027: An Illinois prohibition on selling PFAS-containing gear to fire departments takes effect.
Health Landscape
The USPSTF guidelines have long limited lung cancer screening to people with heavy smoking histories, and this program tests what happens when that threshold is set aside. Only 35% of patients treated for lung cancer would have qualified under those criteria, which places the Lung Health Center's approach against the current national standard.
Anyone over 21 can request a free consultation at the Lung Health Center, which begins with a phone call, even if they do not meet traditional CT screening criteria. Firefighters and others with occupational exposures or a smoking history may want to ask their clinicians whether screening is appropriate for them.
The takeaway
Lung cancer can develop silently, and symptoms often do not appear until an advanced stage. Screening eligibility depends on more than smoking history alone, so anyone with concerns about occupational exposure should discuss their risk with a clinician.
What happens next
The firefighter screening initiative is scheduled to take place during Lung Cancer Awareness Month in November 2026, and the research project aims to screen 10,000 individuals over five years.
Further reading
For related coverage, explore more Cancer news and research.
Source note: This article includes information reported by News-Medical.
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