Background/Objectives:Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States (U.S.). Virginia, South Carolina, and North Carolina are among the U.S. states with extraordinarily high rates of lung cancer mortality, particularly among Black residents. The current lung cancer screening guidelines, revised in 2021, support screening for younger, non-Medicare age-eligible individuals who smoke. However, their health insurance, if any, may not cover their screening. This lack of access could create more disparities in lung cancer mortality rates.Methods:To address this concern, the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Medical University of South Carolina Hollings Cancer Center, and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center secured a four-year Stand Up To Cancer®(SU2C) grant titled “Southeastern Consortium for Lung Cancer Screening (SC3) Study” with a novel aim to test the effectiveness of a multimodal, multilevel, barrier-focused patient navigation intervention to promote lung cancer screening among Black patients from federally qualified health centers.Results:A total of 170/675 Black participants have been recruited to date. The majority of participants (n = 134; 78.82%) were aged 55–74 years. Most participants were unmarried (n = 100; 58.82%), more than half had a high school education/GED or less (n = 111; 65.29%), most currently smoked (n = 142; 83.53%), and more males than females participated (n = 107; 62.94% male). Their reported lung cancer screening barriers, addressed by the patient navigators, were cost concerns, insurance coverage issues, and recent medical history precluding screening.Conclusions with Relevance to Cancer Health Equity:This SC3 study includes a unique lung cancer screening cohort that is in direct contrast to the predominantly White cohort in the National Lung Screening Trial. The SU2C study has created a novel, community-engaged approach to lung cancer screening navigation that could become the gold standard in high-risk medically underserved populations.
背景/目的：肺癌是美国癌症死亡的首要原因。弗吉尼亚州、南卡罗来纳州和北卡罗来纳州是美国肺癌死亡率极高的地区，尤其对黑人居民而言。2021年修订的现行肺癌筛查指南支持对更年轻、不符合医疗保险年龄资格的吸烟者进行筛查。然而，他们的健康保险（如有）可能不涵盖筛查费用。这种筛查途径的缺失可能加剧肺癌死亡率的差异。 方法：为应对这一问题，弗吉尼亚联邦大学梅西综合癌症中心、南卡罗来纳医科大学霍林斯癌症中心以及北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校莱恩伯格综合癌症中心获得了一项为期四年的"抗击癌症"（SU2C）资助项目，名为"东南部肺癌筛查联盟（SC3）研究"。该研究旨在通过一项创新性目标，测试一种多模式、多层次、聚焦于障碍的患者导航干预措施在促进联邦认证健康中心黑人患者接受肺癌筛查方面的有效性。 结果：截至目前，已招募675名黑人参与者中的170名。大多数参与者（n=134；78.82%）年龄在55-74岁之间。多数参与者未婚（n=100；58.82%），超过半数具有高中或以下学历/普通教育发展证书（n=111；65.29%），目前吸烟者占多数（n=142；83.53%），男性参与者多于女性（男性n=107；62.94%）。患者导航员针对参与者报告的肺癌筛查障碍进行了干预，主要包括费用担忧、保险覆盖问题以及近期病史不适合筛查等情况。 癌症健康公平性相关结论：本SC3研究包含一个独特的肺癌筛查队列，与全国肺癌筛查试验中以白人为主的队列形成鲜明对比。SU2C研究开创了一种新颖的、社区参与的肺癌筛查导航方法，有望成为高风险医疗服务不足人群中的黄金标准。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家