The Department is pleased to recognize Professor of Radiology Louise Henderson, PhD, as senior author of an inter-institutional study published in the April 2021 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open that produced findings significant to the lung cancer screening (LCS) research community on screening adherence in centralized versus decentralized programs.
Dr. Henderson joined UNC colleague Professor of Medicine M. Patricia Rivera, MD (Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine) and other lung screening investigative experts from Kaiser Permanente Northern California in conducting a four-year (2014-2018), LCS cohort study at five academic and community-based sites in North Carolina and California with 2200+ screened individuals. Collaborating investigators evaluated patterns and factors associated with adherence to annual lung cancer screening across diverse practice settings in the United States. Their findings expand upon the limited data related to screening adherence in centralized and decentralized programs.
Study results indicated annual adherence to low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) lung cancer screening after negative results on a baseline examination to be suboptimal, but significantly higher among those screened through centralized versus decentralized programs.
Dr. Henderson and co-authors concluded that there is a need to invest in the hiring of a dedicated screening coordinator and to implement effective tracking systems across diverse community practice settings. Their four-year investigation advances LCS research knowledge that can guide evidence-based practices, policy-making and interventions that effectively and equitably support annual LDCT adherence nationwide that optimize LCS effectiveness in community healthcare practice.
Dr. Henderson noted: “With NIH funding, Dr. Rivera and I developed the North Carolina Lung Screening Registry [NCLSR] to assess LCS in real world settings. By collaborating and pooling data with colleagues in California, we were able to expand the size and racial/ethnic diversity of the NCLSR study population. This allowed us to evaluate adherence by type of screening program and in fact, the type of program — namely, a centralized program — was the factor most strongly associated with annual adherence. Identifying factors that drive adherence is crucial, as high adherence is necessary to realize the mortality benefit of LCS.”
PHOTOS: (L): UNC Professor of Radiology & UNC Radiology Epidemiology Research Team Director Louise Henderson, PhD / (R): UNC Professor of Medicine Patricia Rivera, MD (Division of Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine)