That technology has been around for approximately 40 years and has been dismissed as ineffective by various respected experts on the subject. In addition, it does not have FDA approval.
As a screening test, sputum cytology is not effective in decreasing mortality from lung cancer, and is an ineffective screening tool.
*Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Sputum cytology screening has been evaluated and does not appear to meet the criteria of a beneficial screening test. It appears to detect only a minority of all lung cancers, and does not appear to reduce lung cancer mortality.
*The Health Outcomes Research Group, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and the Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; and the Center for Clinical Health Policy Research, Duke University, Durham, NC.