The International Early Lung Cancer Action Program is an ongoing screening program that began accruing participants in 1994. It initially had two participating institutions, NYU and Cornell and now includes over 80 sites worldwide. The Principal Investigator for this program is Claudia Henschke PhD, MD, who is currently at Mount Sinai, which is the coordinating center for the program.

I-ELCAP’s mission is to achieve early diagnosis, treatment, and ultimate cure of lung cancer through the rapid dissemination and advancement of research among a diversified, collaborative network.

Numerous publications document the findings of the I-ELCAP members’ work. Research findings include:

• Curability of Stage I lung cancer is 80-90%
• Annual CT screening allows at least 80% of lung cancers to be diagnosed at Stage I.
• CT screening creates a counseling opportunity that results in greater smoking cessation.
• Costs of CT screening for lung cancer compare favorably with breast, cervical, and colon cancer screenings.

ELCAP is the largest multi-center screening program in the world having already accrued over 80,000 participants and new sites continue to enroll. The program strives to be at the forefront of both innovation and clinical care, which has helped to set the standard in screening that has been adopted globally.