Detecting Lung Cancer Sooner
For the last decade, Avrum Spira, MD, MSc, a BUSM professor of medicine, pathology, and bioinformatics and a pulmonologist at Boston Medical Center (BMC), has worked to develop molecular tests that detect lung cancer early. Now, with a $13.7 million grant from the Department of Defense, he is carrying the research forward as leader of a five-year study called Detecting Early Lung Cancer Among Military Personnel (DECAMP).
Dr. Spira is the Principal Investigator of the DECAMP project, which aims to develop and validate early detection molecular biomarkers for lung cancer. As the number one killer of all cancers in the United States and the rest of the world, lung cancer is a significant public health problem among military personnel and veterans due to high rates of smoking and exposure to carcinogens. The goal of this project is to identify the subset of people with exposure who at higher risk of developing lung cancer through less invasive means, ultimately, detecting lung cancer at an early and curable stage.
Watch the video of Dr. Spira describing his work.