Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in Louisiana, accounting for nearly two thirds of cancer deaths. This research project, titled “Effectiveness of a multilevel integrated intervention for low dose computed tomography (LDCT) lung cancer screening and smoking cessation among African Americans,” marks a step forward in supporting combining lung cancer screenings and smoking cessation to ease the burden of cancer among African Americans. The Research Project Grant (R01) is the original and historically oldest grant mechanism used by NIH. The R01 provides support for health-related research and development based on the mission of the NIH.
Low dose computed tomography is a non-invasive, painless, quick scan that uses a low dose of radiation to create detailed images of the lungs. According to the American Lung Association, Black individuals with lung cancer were 15% less likely to be diagnosed early, 19% less likely to receive surgical treatment, 11% more likely to not receive any treatment, and 16% less likely to survive five years compared to white individuals.
Dr. Tseng’s research aims to utilize multiple levels of intervention integrating lung cancer screening and smoking cessation to increase LDCT application and cessation behaviors in racially and ethnically diverse populations. These aims directly align with the goals of both the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center’s mission and will increase knowledge of smoking cessation and LDCT needs for African Americans. In addition, this study may also help build a robust screening program for the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center.
Information from this research study will be beneficial for the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center as it aims to better understand the impacts of lung cancer on minority populations in Louisiana.
To learn more, visit www.lsulcmchealthcancercenter.org.
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About the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center
LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center has reimagined, reinvented, strengthened, and modernized how Louisianians tackle a cancer diagnosis and more importantly, how they can prevent it. Home to more than 100 cancer researchers, the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center’s research programs through the Stanley S. Scott Cancer Research Center of Excellence directly benefit the Louisiana community by conducting focused research necessary to better prevent cancer, detect it earlier when it can be more effectively treated, and to develop the new cancer therapies of tomorrow. Through funding and critical partnerships such as those with LSU, LCMC Health, Tulane University, and Louisiana Cancer Research Center, LSU LCMC Health Center brings together cancer care and research in Louisiana to focus on the specific challenges the state faces to reduce the inordinate cancer burden.
LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans (LSU Health New Orleans) educates Louisiana's health care professionals. The state's health sciences university leader, LSU Health New Orleans includes a School of Medicine with campuses in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette, the state's only School of Dentistry, Louisiana's only public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSU Health New Orleans faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics throughout the region. In the vanguard of biosciences research, the LSU Health New Orleans research enterprise generates jobs and enormous annual economic impact. LSU Health New Orleans faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to prevent, advance treatment or cure disease.