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The press release below was prepared by 91麻豆天美直播. .
Lung cancer kills more people than any other cancer in the U.S. However, a highly effective lung cancer screening could .
Researchers at the (the U) have designed new digital tools that prompt doctors to consider lung cancer screening for high-risk patients and provide personalized guidance on screening. Since their implementation, the digital tools have sparked doctor-patient conversations and quadrupled the amount of lung cancer screens for high-risk patients.
Until recently, lung cancer was often caught too late to effectively treat. But recent improvements in screening and treatment have made a lifesaving difference. Wallace Akerley, MD, director of the at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of oncology at the U, adds that 鈥渨hile quitting or preventing tobacco use altogether is our highest goal, earlier diagnosis due to screening is equally important.鈥
鈥淭here is a tremendous need to enhance the support we give our providers and patients. These are the kinds of approaches we think can make that happen.鈥
For people at high risk of lung cancer, performing a CT scan of the chest for early signs of cancer can reduce the risk of dying from lung cancer by as much as 20%. , researcher at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of biomedical informatics at the U, calls the scan, 鈥渙ne of the most effective screening tools out there.鈥
Despite this, 鈥渟creening rates historically have been abysmal,鈥 Kawamoto continues. In 2020, only about 7% of eligible patients were screened for lung cancer nationwide.
The low rate of lung cancer screening may be because the risks and benefits of lung cancer screening vary between individual patients. The initial CT screen has a high rate of false positives鈥攊ncorrectly indicating that a healthy patient has a concerning spot. This means that, for people at low risk of lung cancer, the potentially unnecessary follow-up procedures that accompany a positive result can cause more harm than good, explains , chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences at Huntsman Cancer Institute.
To Screen or Not to Screen
Fagerlin wanted to find a way to make this complicated cost-benefit analysis easier. Then at the University of Michigan, she worked with collaborator Tanner Caverly, MD, to develop a to guide patients and doctors through a discussion about whether to screen.
The tool uses each patient鈥檚 demographic information and history of smoking to estimate their personalized risk of lung cancer. It also includes questions designed to assess the patient鈥檚 levels of concern about lung cancer and false positives, bringing their own priorities into the conversation. 鈥淧eople鈥檚 goals, their values, their preferences, the way they think about health care, really influence whether or not they get screened,鈥 Fagerlin says.
Kawamoto led a team of researchers that took the tool a step further by building an app that makes the discussion about lung cancer screening more efficient and streamlined. The app, , automatically integrates data from a patient鈥檚 health records into their personalized risk assessment and helps clinicians incorporate shared decision making into busy clinical workflows.
Since these digital tools went into use at the U, .
New Technologies Help Personalize Care
The lung cancer screening tool isn鈥檛 the only way the researchers are using informatics to support evidence-based treatment. The app is part of a broader initiative led by Kawamoto and , a researcher at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of bioinformatics at the U. The initiative, called , seeks to improve health care by making software that automatically integrates patients鈥 health records to help doctors provide personalized care.
鈥淲hile quitting or preventing tobacco use altogether is our highest goal, earlier diagnosis due to screening is equally important.鈥
So far, the initiative has sparked a suite of more than ten digital health tools, from a tool that uses patient health records and chatbots to facilitate to a tool that helps doctors , which can lead to brain damage if not caught and treated early. Most of these tools are currently in use at the U, helping doctors provide evidence-based care to every patient, every time.
鈥淭here is a tremendous need to enhance the support we give our providers and patients,鈥 Kawamoto adds. 鈥淲e want to make it so we can very systematically provide, in an efficient way, the best-known care to every patient. These are the kinds of approaches we think can make that happen.鈥
Media Contact
Heather Simonsen
Public Affairs Senior Manager
Huntsman Cancer Institute
801 581-3194
public.affairs@hci.utah.edu
About Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the is the National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center for Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming. With a legacy of innovative cancer research, groundbreaking discoveries, and world-class patient care, we are transforming the way cancer is understood, prevented, diagnosed, treated, and survived. Huntsman Cancer Institute focuses on delivering the most advanced cancer healing and prevention through scientific breakthroughs and cutting-edge technology to advance cancer treatments of the future beyond the standard of care today. We have more than 300 open clinical trials and 250 research teams studying cancer. More genes for inherited cancers have been discovered at Huntsman Cancer Institute than at any other cancer center. Our scientists are world-renowned for understanding how cancer begins and using that knowledge to develop innovative approaches to treat each patient鈥檚 unique disease. Huntsman Cancer Institute was founded by Jon M. and Karen Huntsman.