Return to Main Menu

HCC to participate in national lung screening trial The Hollings Cancer Center, one of 30 medical facilities in the U.S. selected by the National Cancer Institute, will participate in the institute's National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), to determine the most effective method of detecting lung cancer in its earliest stages and in turn, reduce more deaths from this disease.   The trial will compare two leading procedures for detecting lung cancer: the standard chest X-ray and the spiral computed tomography (CT) scan. Currently no studies show screening reduces the death rate of lung cancer.  According to James Ravenel, M.D., assistant professor of radiology and chief of thoracic imaging at MUSC, the purpose of this trial is twofold: to determine whether screening can indeed reduce lung cancer deaths, and if so, which procedure is the most effective in doing so.  Every year, nearly 155,000 people die of lung cancer in the U.S. South Carolinians account for 2,400 of those deaths. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women. Researchers have identified cigarette smoking as the leading cause of this disease, therefore an estimated 90 million current and former smokers in the U.S. are at high risk for developing lung cancer.  NLST is enrolling 50,000 healthy men and women, aged 55 to 74, who are current or former smokers. Eligible participants will be screened for lung cancer and randomly selected to receive a chest X-ray or CT scan once a year for three years. All tests are free of charge. “Being awarded this trial not only allows us to offer an excellent screening service to South Carolinians, but also puts the Hollings Cancer Center in a prime position to be selected to participate in more national trials that will further benefit our state and neighboring communities,” said Rhonda Yusuff, director for research administration at the Hollings Cancer Center. According to Bradley Benjamin, study coordinator for the NLST at Hollings, the ultimate accrual goal for the center is 1,500 patients during a period of two years. In less than two months, 46 patients have been enrolled in the NLST at MUSC. Currently the center screens four to five patients per day. By January, this number is expected to double with additional staff and resources assigned to the trial. Ravenel believes NLST is a major step toward the Hollings Cancer Center's goal of NCI designation. In addition, it offers patients the possibility of detecting lung cancer that may be curable.  “We are eager to find out if advancements in technology will allow us to detect lung cancer early enough to change its natural course,” Ravenel said.   Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.