Read time: 4 minutes.
The LUNGevity Conversations that Count speaker series offers an opportunity to stay informed, engage in critical discussions, and learn from top experts revolutionizing lung cancer care for underserved populations. The series is intended for healthcare professionals, community health equity champions, and anyone interested in equitable access to healthcare.
In May, we welcomed Jeffrey Velotta, MD, FACS, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, to share his work on improving lung cancer screening uptake in Asian Americans. Dr. Velotta also touched on the rising incidence of lung cancer in Asian American women with no smoking history.
You can watch the full video or use the timestamps to view specific sections.
Must Know Data About Lung Cancer in Asian Americans: 4:00-6:30
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among Asian American men and women, and cancer overall is the number one cause of death for Asian Americans. Making them the only ethnic group in the U.S. where heart disease is not the leading cause of death.
We know that not all Asians are alike. That is part of the issue of how hard it is to study Asian Americans, as we are so heterogeneous and diverse.
-Dr. Jeffrey Velotta, Kaiser Permanente Northern California
For a breakdown of cancer mortality by type of cancer for different subgroups of Asian Americans, make sure to check out the chart at 5:10.
Diagnosing Lung Cancer & Screening Guidelines: 6:30-17:10
Dr. Velotta talks about the current USPSTF Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines based on smoking history, and how these guidelines make it hard to catch cancer early. Dr. Velotta points to California—where he’s located—as an example of poor uptake of lung cancer screening among those who meet the guidelines. The national average of lung cancer screening uptake among eligible individuals is 4.5%, in California that number is 0.7%—with some caveats.
The second part of the diagnosis lung cancer conversation focuses on follow-up screening. It's crucial that those who are eligible for lung cancer screening get their first CT scan, and then come back year after year for follow-up scans to increase the likelihood of being diagnosed early if they develop lung cancer.
How Do We Diagnose Lung Cancer Earlier in Asian Americans? 17:10-42:45
Dr. Velotta shares his experience with active outreach and using lung cancer navigators to help increase screening rates. Specifically, what he calls “lay navigators” who are non-medical individuals trained to assist patients.
The data and outcomes from this outreach program are shared at 23:20. In short, the lay navigator program led to a 2-3-fold increase in lung cancer screening rates.
Hitting on an earlier point, Dr. Velotta emphasizes that we need to understand that Asian Americans are a broad group, and there are very distinct differences between subgroups of this population—which require different approaches.
After covering how to increase screening among people who meet the screening guidelines, Dr. Velotta talks about people who do not qualify for screening—beginning at 24:50. He specifically highlights that while lung cancer incidence is declining overall, lung cancer incidence among Asian men and women who do not smoke is increasing 2% each year.
Dr. Velotta’s advice for diagnosing lung cancer earlier:
- Public and Provider Awareness- Let everyone know that lung cancer screening saves lives
- Implement Programs – Use community health workers, lay navigators, and translation services
- Fund Research – We need to know more about screening in Asian American at-risk groups
Audience Q&A: 42:45-61:33
Questions include:
- Can you explain the workflow of using a lay navigator and their role in creating trust?
- What studies and surveys do you know about for Asian patients living in Canada?
- Can you talk about the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco and their approach?
- What about environmental factors and other influences on lung cancer in Asians who live in the U.S. vs Asia?
- What can we learn about your research and extrapolate to other groups in the U.S.?
- What do you think about mobile screening?
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