A groundbreaking lung cancer screening project co-led by the University of Colorado Cancer Center and the University of Kentucky (UK) Markey Cancer Center is set to expand its reach with a $6.8 million grant from the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation (BMSF).
A program known as QUILS™ (Quality Implementation of Lung Cancer Screening), led by Jamie Studts, PhD, program co-leader of Cancer Prevention & Control at the CU Cancer Center, along with UK researchers Jennifer Redmond Knight, DrPH, and Timothy Mullett, MD, has helped to transform Kentucky's approach to lung cancer screening over the past decade.
“Despite its longstanding history of being the state with the highest incidence of and mortality from lung cancer, Kentucky has rallied around the lung cancer screening opportunity and has become a national leader for implementing equitable and high-quality lung cancer screening that is improving lung cancer outcomes,” says Studts, former assistant director of the cancer prevention and control program at the Markey Cancer Center.
Expanding on success
The QUILS™ System helps screening centers optimize their services by evaluating factors such as patient eligibility, tobacco cessation efforts, and shared decision-making processes. The program emerged from the prevention and early detection component of the Kentucky LEADS (Lung cancer Education, Awareness, Detection and Survivorship) Collaborative, which was launched in 2014 to improve Kentucky's approach to lung cancer through education, survivorship care, and screening practices.
Kentucky now has the second-highest rate of lung cancer screening in the U.S., due in part to the Kentucky LEADS Collaborative. Building on this success, the four-year BMSF grant will support a new effort to replicate and adapt the program in Mississippi and Nevada — states chosen due to their high lung cancer burden, low screening rates, and opportunities to address health disparities, as well as coalition capacity and readiness.
“We’ve seen firsthand how impactful the Kentucky LEADS Collaborative has been in increasing lung cancer screenings and helping save lives,” says Catharine Grimes, president of the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation. “Now, we are providing a deeper commitment to the successful work in Kentucky and an expansion into communities in Mississippi and Nevada, where the need is just as great, and we’re proud to support this important effort.”
“Our experience in Kentucky has taught us that improving lung cancer screening rates requires a collaborative, quality-focused approach,” adds Knight, co-principal investigator of Kentucky LEADS Collaborative and an assistant professor in the UK College of Public Health. “This funding will allow us to apply what we’ve learned in Kentucky to help create targeted solutions for Mississippi and Nevada, potentially setting a new standard for lung cancer screening nationwide.”
Reducing mortality rates
The LEADS Collaborative framework has helped boost Kentucky's screening rates to twice the national average. As a result, late-stage lung cancer diagnoses have decreased by 10% in the past decade. The shift is expected to reduce mortality rates over time, as patients diagnosed at earlier stages have significantly better survival prospects.
The team will partner with key organizations in Mississippi and Nevada to implement the QUILS™ System and build a program based on the LEADS Collaborative framework. The effort will also encourage coalition-building efforts among diverse partners throughout each state and engage each state’s primary care infrastructure to accelerate screening, adapting the Kentucky model to meet each state's unique needs.
UK will serve as the program management hub, in addition to leading the coalition building and QUILS™ System Implementation. The CU Cancer Center will lead the clinician engagement component and population health impact evaluation. CU and UK will work alongside the University of Mississippi Medical Center and Nevada Cancer Coalition.
“The teams in Mississippi and Nevada have developed an engaged group of collaborators that are ready to work with our team to optimize delivery and outcomes related to lung cancer screening — the most underutilized tool to transform cancer outcomes nationally,” Studts says. “Together, we have an incredible opportunity to transform the lung cancer screening and outcomes landscape similarly to how that landscape is changing in Kentucky.”
