J. Scott Ferguson, MD, associate professor (CHS), Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, has been awarded the GAIN NSCLC Community Service Grant from the CHEST Foundation for a proposal entitled, “Making GAINs in NSCLC Management.” The award provides $30,000 over one year. The project will focus on identifying ways to shorten the time to diagnosis and treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). 

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States, and NSCLC accounts for approximately 80% to 95% of all lung cancer diagnoses. Obtaining a diagnosis and starting treatment without delay is important, but there can be many barriers to delivery of care. 

The project will institute a team-based approach called GAIN, for Engaging an Interdisciplinary Team for NSCLC Diagnosis, Personalized Assessment, and Treatment. The effort aims to identify barriers to the delivery of care for the NSCLC patient, how pathology and molecular marker testing processes can be optimized for efficiency and insight, how inter-departmental communication can be improved, and how processes can be streamlined so patients receive timely, accurate medical care for NSLC. 

At the conclusion of the study, the results will be presented at a GAIN Summit and shared with the Wisconsin Oncology Network. Data relating to the quality improvement plan for the project will continue to be collected after the summit. 

Members of the GAIN team include:

• Dr. Ferguson as team lead
• David Sonetti, MD, assistant professor (CHS), Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
• Clinical scholar Kelly Ayala RN, BSN, who will work on system-based care improvement including referrals processes
• Pulmonary fellow Nestor Anguiano, MD, who will analyze quality improvement measures
• UW Health Thoracic Oncology Program nursing coordinator Heather Vandehaar BSN, who will examine timeliness of molecular marker testing
• Toby Campbell, MD, MSci, associate professor (CHS), Hematology, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care, who will advise on improving health care communication structure
• William Rehrauer, PhD, associate professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Resources:

• CHEST Foundation - Grants