Screening for lung cancer is now available and widely recommended for its potential to save the lives of potential patients, Time reported.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. this year and appears most often in patients who admit to regularly smoking. New studies suggest preliminary CT scans in smokers between the ages of 55 and 80 could reveal potential tumors.

The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) is a government-based panel of experts recently did not have the evidence to support annual screenings. Now they have drafted a recommendation for regular smokers, as well as those who have quit in the last 15 years to get a low dose CT scan.

According to the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), a study published Monday in Annals of Internal Medicine by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN), the scan is worth the risk. A low dose CT scan would expose a patient to a small amount of radiation and, therefore a small risk, but the benefits of catching a tumor early on outweigh that risk, the study said.

Another study, published in the journal Cancer, suggested that preventative CT scans could lower the amount of lung cancer deaths by 12,000 and would also significantly lower health care costs for patients.

"The evidence shows we can prevent a substantial number of lung cancer deaths by screening" Dr. Michael LeFevre, a task force leader and family physician at the University of Missouri, told the Associated Press.

According to the AP, the panel will give its final thoughts on the matter on Aug. 26, allowing for public comment until then.

Lung cancer kills about 90 percent of patients who contract the disease because, the task force said, it is found in its later stages and less can be done to treat it. The task force estimated 10 million Americans fit the criteria for the low dose CT scans.