Dr. Benjamin’s research focuses on improving the rates of lung cancer screening. Currently, there is interest in “centralizing” lung cancer screening into self-contained programs or one-stop shops, with dedicated support staff and clinical personnel to coordinate shared decision-making, scheduling imaging, and arranging appropriate follow-up care. However, it is poorly understood how these centralized programs compare to “decentralized” screening that is coordinated by primary care physicians directly with their patients. Dr. Benjamin seeks to utilize nationwide longitudinal data from multiple lung cancer screening programs from the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System to evaluate and compare the performance of centralized versus decentralized screening programs, with particular focus on highlighting their effectiveness within various racial and income groups.
Comparative Effectiveness of Lung Cancer Screening Strategies
Lawrence Benjamin, MD
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death. Those at high risk for developing lung cancer from smoking are recommended to undergo screening for lung cancer yearly. However, despite this recommendation for nearly a decade, few who are eligible get screened, and even fewer follow up after their first screening. Lung cancer screening programs should investigate the effectiveness of their organizational structure and how well it serves their patients. The proposed study seeks to study the impact of a lung cancer screening programs organizational structure on its performance amongst various demographic groups using data from the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Lung Cancer Screening (LCS) with an annual low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) scan has been recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) since 2013, but uptake and adherence has been quite poor, estimating less than 20% of those eligible get screened. Additionally, there is a lack of consensus or high quality data to compare implementation strategies for lung cancer screening programs, and how these perform at reaching patients from different demographic backgrounds. Recently, there has been increasing interest in “centralizing” lung cancer screening into self-contained programs, with dedicated support staff and clinical personnel to coordinate shared decision making, scheduling of imaging, and arranging appropriate follow up. It is poorly understood how these centralized programs may compare at scale to “decentralized” screening that is coordinated by Primary Care Physicians directly with their outpatients. The proposed study seeks to utilize nationwide longitudinal data from multiple lung cancer screening programs from the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System to evaluate the comparative performance of centralized versus decentralized screening programs, and specifically highlighting their performance amongst various racial and income groups.
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