Wolfson Medical Center

Researchers have demonstrated the benefits of lung cancer screening across socioeconomic groups. Evidence in the new study illustrates the value and importance of screening, especially for those who live in areas of economic deprivation. Researchers from the University of Liverpool and Queen Mary University of London have published the first study in the UK to demonstrate the benefits of lung cancer screening across socioeconomic groups. Evidence in the new study illustrates the value and importance of screening, especially for those who live in areas of economic deprivation[1]. Lung cancer affects the lives of about 40,000 people a year in the UK and previous studies from Liverpool researchers illustrate the unequivocal benefit of lung cancer screening in identified high risk groups. In a newly published Lancet Regional Health Europe paper, lung cancer researchers further demonstrate the benefits of low-dose CT lung cancer screening. The latest study illustrates lung cancer outcomes are comparable across all socioeconomic groups. Significantly, it also demonstrates that screening may provide additional health benefits for other smoking-related diseases. The analysis showed that conditions COPD and emphysema, both of which disproportionately affect lower socioeconomic groups, were less often the cause of death when subjects received a low-dose CT scan. Researchers examined long-term outcomes of recruited participants from across the socioeconomic spectrum. This allowed assessment of the impact of socioeconomic status on a variety of aspects, including initial recruitment, selection for screening, lung cancer detection, and long-term mortality benefit from lung cancer and other diseases. It is shown that those from a lower socioeconomic group benefited from low-dose-CT screening in terms of lung cancer survival to the same extent as those from more affluent groups. However, they were more likely to benefit in terms of death from COPD and emphysema. Professor John Field, Professor of Molecular Oncology, University of Liverpool and lead author on the paper said: "The impact of low-dose CT lung cancer screening has been previously demonstrated in a number of international clinical trials, including the UKLS study here in the UK. However, this is the first time that the long-term impact of risk-stratified lung cancer screening has been compared across different socioeconomic groups, demonstrating that those disadvantaged groups at the greatest risk of developing the disease benefit as much as those in less deprived areas." Dr Chris Warburton, Respiratory Consultant at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Clinical Lead for the Targeted Lung Health Check Programme for the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance said: "This is excellent data which demonstrates that lung cancer screening of high risk populations not only delivers benefits in lung cancer outcomes for the most deprived in our society, but it could also have wider beneficial effects on other smoking related diseases such as COPD and cardiovascular disease. The Cancer Alliance would encourage anyone offered a Lung Health Check to attend this important appointment which might just help to prolong their life." Professor John Field worked with Dr Michael Davies, from the University of Liverpool's Institute of Systems, Molecular & Integrative Biology, and Daniel Vulkan, Professor Rhian Gabe, and Professor Stephen Duffy, from the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London. Professor Stephen Duffy said: "These results indicate the potential for lung cancer screening to address some serious inequalities in health. As the targeted programme is rolled out nationally, we need to make an effort to deliver the service to those deprived populations who need it most." The UKLS study was funded by the Health Technology Assessment programme of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Dr Michael Davies is a Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation Senior Research Fellow. Daniel Vulkan's and Professor Stephen Duffy's contributions to this research were funded by the NIHR Policy Research Programme. [1] Deprivation, or lower socioeconomic status, as measured in the UK by the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)

Save a Child's Heart, an international Israeli humanitarian organization, treated its 7,000th child in Israel, a 10-year-old boy from Kenya, while providing urgent medical care to casualties of tragic attacks in Israel. TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Save a Child's Heart (SACH), an Israeli humanitarian organization, marked a major milestone when it treated Kelvin, a 10-year-old from Kenya. Kelvin became Save a Child's Heart's 7,000th child saved by the volunteer Israeli doctors of SACH. Kelvin was referred to Save a Child's Heart by Kenyan Pediatric Cardiologist Dr. Ombaba Osano, who had previously trained with the Save a Child's Heart team in Israel. Continue Reading Kelvin with his mother, Martha Kelvin in Israel Dr Alona Raucher Sternfeld, Head of Pediatric Cardiology at Wolfson Medical Center said: "When Kelvin first arrived in Israel, the echocardiography showed that he had a big defect between the two main chambers of the heart. So, during surgery the hole was closed, and the valve was replaced with a mechanical valve. After surgery he also needed catheterization to enlarge the ascending aorta. He recovered very nicely, and we are happy with his condition". Save a Child's Heart brought Kelvin's mother, a Kenyan nurse, Kelvin, and 10 other children from Kenya to Israel to receive life-saving cardiac care. Kelvin underwent two life-saving procedures to treat his congenital heart defects on November 1, 2023, and December 18, 2023, at the Sylvan Adams Children's Hospital and the Ida Cabakoff International Pediatric Cardiac Center at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel. Kelvin said he was excited and proud to be the 7,000th child treated: "Being the 7,000th kid helped by Save a Child's Heart felt really good. I was not scared, and now my heart feels better, I'm happy they fixed it. I am excited to go back home to see my family and friends, and to go back to school. I want to study and become a doctor one day. The doctors and everyone were so nice!" Martha, Kelvin's mother said, "Save a Child's Heart gave my son, Kelvin, a second chance at a happy and healthy life. The care from the amazing team healed my son and filled our hearts with gratitude. Wishing everyone at Save a Child's Heart a long and happy life, continuing their important work to help more kids all over the world," she said. Even as Save a Child's Heart was treating Kelvin, it was also helping meet urgent medical needs during the war in Israel. Doctors at the SACH medical facilities were actively treating 10 recently released female hostages who had been abducted on October 7th and over 400 victims who were injured during the October 7th attacks and ongoing war. Kelvin's life was saved through the support of the German children's charity organization, BILD hilft e.V. "Ein Herz für Kinder." About Save a Child's Heart: Founded at the Wolfson Medical Center in 1995, Save a Child's Heart has saved the lives of 7,000 children from 70 countries. Fifty percent of the children are from Gaza and the West Bank, and SACH holds cardiology clinics for Palestinian children at its facilities in Holon. In 2018 SACH received the UN Population Award in recognition of its role in helping transform pediatric cardiac care in Africa. SACH is dedicated to improving pediatric cardiac care in developing countries around the world through surgery, medical missions, and education and has brought more than 150 local healthcare professionals to Israel for training so they can treat their own children independently and create centers of excellence in their home countries. Additional images can be found here: Media Contact: David Litwack 240.223.3940 [email protected] SOURCE Save a Child's Heart Foundation