Doubeni and Ritzwoller to Codirect New Lung Cancer Screening Initiative Under the NCI

Chyke Doubeni, MD

Chyke Doubeni, MD

Chyke Doubeni, MD, chair of Family Medicine and Community Health at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Debra P. Ritzwoller, PhD, of Kaiser Permanente, have been chosen to codirect the new Center for Research to Optimize Precision Lung Cancer Screening (CPLS).

Debra P. Ritzwoller, PhD

Debra P. Ritzwoller, PhD

This center is funded by the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) 5-year, $15.5 million grant given to the researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Institute for Health Research at Kaiser Permanente Colorado, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, and Marshfield Clinic Health System in Wisconsin.Researchers from the 5 institutions will join Doubeni and Ritzwoller to improve the effectiveness of lung cancer screening. CPLS will be 1 of 3 specialized screening centers created by the Healthcare Delivery Research Program at NCI’s initiative program, the Population-Based Research to Optimize the Screening Process II (PROSPR II).

While lung cancer is the highest cause of cancer deaths in the United States, PROSPR II strives to promote research that can help screening catch lung cancer at earlier stages that are easier to treat.

“Lung cancer disparities present an urgent public health crisis in most communities across the United States,” Doubeni said.

Doubeni and Ritzwoller will lead this team of researchers in investigating ways to prevent underuse, overuse, and misuse of lung cancer screening across the nation.

“We’ve seen some hope in low-dose computed tomography screening to reduce the risk of lung cancer and also as an opportunity to promote smoking cessation treatments, but many questions remain about the best way to optimize the delivery of screening in our communities,” Doubeni said in a statement.

“I look forward to the collaborative work by these diverse institutions to tackle these issues in depth and develop best practices for improving the delivery and effectiveness of screening.”