then authorities should promote methods and tools to prevent radon exposure (ventilation, barrier methods, etc). It is also indispensable to identify exposed population to high indoor radon concentration at risk of developing lung cancer that could benefit from lung cancer screening programmes. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Expert Panel for Lung Cancer Screening (27) feels that radon is a risk factor if there is a documented sustained and substantially elevated radon exposure and recommends lung cancer screening with low-dose CT. Recently, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has expanded the inclusion criteria for lung cancer screening with low-radiation-dose chest CT (subjects between 50 and 80 years, pack-year index greater than 20) (28). It would be interesting to know whether those smoking subjects with an additional risk factor (such as radon exposure) benefit from less stringent criteria. Furthermore, it should be investigated whether non-smokers with a sustained and significant exposure to environmental radon could undergo a
lung cancer screening program with low-radiation dose chest CT.
Final remarks
During the last decades substantial progress has been done in the radon field and its undeniable relationship with lung cancer, but there is still much work to do and questions to resolve.It is time to expand knowledge about radon. We hope that the ongoing studies, focused on the comprehensive characterization of lung cancer induced by radon, will strengthen scientific knowledge on radon, enriching the previous evidence, integrating clinical and molecular oncology data on a radon- associated signature, also defining the impact of radon exposure on the cancer response and patient's outcomes. These studies will also raise the awareness of this preventable but silent risk factor, promoting radon plans and strategies on cancer prevention.
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