MUSC’s Hollings Cancer Center researchers awarded $1.8 million federal grant to help African Americans with non-small cell lung cancer
June 22, 2012
CHARLESTON, SC – June 21, 2011 – African Americans in South Carolina with early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are significantly less likely than Caucasians to receive surgical treatment for their disease, thus significantly reducing chances of survival. This reflects a national trend that the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and statewide partners hope to change with a $1.8 million federal grant.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. While surgery is the standard of care for early stage NSCLC and offers the best chance for long-term survival, fewer than half of African -Americans diagnosed undergo surgery.
This study, funded by the NIH’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, will test whether statewide patient navigation intervention improves receipt of surgery, time to surgery, and survival in African Americans with early stage NSCLC.
The study, led by Nestor F. Esnaola, M.D., a surgical oncologist and medical director of MUSC’s oncology service line; and Marvella E. Ford, Ph.D., associate director for Cancer Disparities at the Hollings Cancer Center, will be conducted at MUSC and five other cancer centers across South Carolina:
- McLeod Regional Medical Center (Florence)
- Palmetto Health (Columbia)
- Self Regional Healthcare (Greenwood)
- Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System (Spartanburg)
- The Regional Medical Center of Orangeburg and Calhoun Counties (Orangeburg)
“Our hope is that this study will uncover modifiable causes of underuse of lung cancer surgery among African Americans,” said Ford. “The patient navigation intervention may prove to be a practical and powerful strategy for use by other health care providers, institutions, and communities seeking to reduce persistent racial disparities in lung cancer surgery and outcomes.”
“This project has the potential to transform the care of African American lung cancer patients in our state and demonstrates our cancer center’s commitment to improving the health of all South Carolinians facing cancer,” added Esnaola.
About MUSC
Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care. MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and residents, and has nearly 11,000 employees, including approximately 1,500 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $1.7 billion. MUSC operates a 750-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized Children’s Hospital, the Ashley River Tower (cardiovascular, digestive disease, and surgical oncology), and a leading Institute of Psychiatry. For more information on academic information or clinical services, visit www.musc.edu. For more information on hospital patient services, visit www.muschealth.com.
About Hollings Cancer Center
Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina is a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center and the largest academic-based cancer program in South Carolina. The cancer center has more than $35 million in cancer research funding and more than 1,100 people are currently participating in a cancer clinical trial at Hollings Cancer Center.
Hollings offers state-of-the-art diagnostic capabilities, therapies and surgical techniques and has multidisciplinary clinics that include surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation therapists, radiologists, pathologists, psychologists and many other specialists seeing patients under one roof. Multidisciplinary care is provided for most adult and pediatric cancers. For more information please visit www.hcc.musc.edu.
The Hollings Cancer Center is supported by an NIH National Cancer Center Community Support Grant -#P30CA13831301
