Danbury Hospital Joins Lung Cancer Screening Study

DANBURY — Danbury Hospital is taking part in a national clinical research trial to study the blood proteins in patients with small lung lesions. The research hopes to lead to a screening blood test that may determine if a person has non-small cell lung cancer.

The American College of Surgeons Oncology Groups (ACOSOG) is the sponsor of this clinical trial. ACOSOG is one of ten cooperative groups funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop and coordinate multi-institutional clinical trials, and is the only cooperative group whose primary focus is the surgical management of patients with malignant solid tumors.

Clinical trials evaluate new drugs, new prevention strategies, or new screening tests to determine if they are safe and effective. Today’s standard treatments are based on previous study results.

Through proteomics (the study of proteins), blood and tissue samples are evaluated to determine whether there are differences in how these proteins look when people are sick as opposed to when they are healthy, in the hope that new markers for cancer can be identified.

“There are two main types of lung cancer. The most common form of lung cancer is called non-small cell lung cancer,” said Michael Walker, MD, a thoracic surgeon and chairman of the hospital’s Lung Cancer Tumor Board. “This clinical trial will assist to determine the effectiveness of proteomic profiling as a way to diagnose patients who are at greater risk of developing non-small cell lung cancer.”

“Patients who are identified as possible study candidates are most often referred to us by their physician and voluntarily agree to participate,” said Dr Walker, the principal investigator for this clinical trial at Danbury Hospital. “These patients also must have been diagnosed with a suspicious lesion (abnormal area) in their lung that may or may not be cancer.”

As part of the study’s procedures, blood samples are collected before and after surgery for evaluation. In addition, a small piece of tissue that is removed at the time of surgery is also tested.

Pierre Saldinger, MD, chairman of the Danbury Hospital Department of Surgery, spearheaded the Praxair Cancer Center at Danbury Hospital’s involvement in the ACOSOG specialty group in August 2004.

“It is vital for cancer centers like ours to be involved in as many clinical trials as possible,” said Dr Saldinger. “The more research that is conducted, the better the chance to develop improvements in lung cancer diagnosis and treatment outcomes, and the more help we can offer to patients.”       

“The Praxair Cancer Center at Danbury Hospital conducts clinical trials for a variety of cancers that give patients access to the latest protocols for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer,” said Sue Gran, RN, MPH, CCRC, oncology research coordinator at the Praxair Cancer Center.

“Clinical trials help provide answers to important scientific questions that physicians need, and that may suggest a future direction in cancer research,” she said.

For more information regarding the proteomics research study or other clinical trials offered at Danbury Hospital, contact Sue Gran at the Praxair Cancer Center at Danbury Hospital, at 797-7997. Research and clinical trials presently being conducted may be reviewed by visiting the hospital website at www.danhospital.org.