Speaker: Nasser Hanna MD
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in the United States, but this was not always the case. During the first half of the 20th century, lung cancer was an uncommon cause of suffering; however, with the increase in cigarette consumption, previous lack of an effective screening intervention or treatment beyond surgery and radiation, lung cancer suffering became an epidemic in the second half of the 20th century and has continued to be in the first 20 years of this century. The tide has turned, however, as cigarette consumption has declined, lung screening with a low dose CT scan has proven to save lives, the genetic blueprint for lung cancer has been defined, strategies to harness the immune system to kill lung cancer have been discovered, and advocacy and funding have begun to rapidly rise. We are now well positioned to end the lung cancer epidemic after 100 years of needless suffering and 8 million lives lost in the United States.
About the Speaker: Nasser Hanna, MD is a medical oncologist at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. He earned his BA in Biology at Saint Louis University, his MD from University of Missouri, completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Iowa and a medical oncology fellowship at Indiana University. He is the Tom and Julie Wood Family Foundation Professor of Lung Cancer Clinical Research, the founder and chairperson of End Lung Cancer Now, and the Chief of cancer screenings at IU Health.
Sponsor : Karen Bumb
Program: Live and Zoom: The Lung Cancer Epidemic: How we can end it in the next decade
Speaker: Nasser Hanna, MD, Medical Oncologist, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center
Introduced By: Karen Bumb Lauer
Attendance: NESC:80; Zoom: 25
Guest(s): Kelly Queisser, Jeff Lewis, Jo Lewis
Scribe: Bil Dick
Editor: Bill Elliott
View a Zoom recording of this talk at: https://www.scientechclubvideos.org/zoom/04212025.mp4
Today’s lecture was an invigorating one, given by Dr. Nasser Hanna, Chief of Cancer Screenings at IU Simon Cancer Center. He trained under Dr. Larry Einhorn, who is well known for his work in testicular cancer. Dr. Einhorn is also an expert in lung cancer.
Dr. Hanna’s work is in prevention, early detection, research, and survivor care. The death rate from lung cancer increased from 1930 to the year 2000, when it started a slow decline. In a recent year, over 1.5 million men and women died of lung cancer. It is the leading cause of cancer mortality in men and women.
Lung cancer was rare until the 1930’s. Smoking increased in WW I. In the 1930’s, many people died from pneumonia and heart disease. Lung cancer was not even included in medical texts. Since 1930, there has been a steady rise in lung cancer deaths. By 2023, the deaths in women were higher than in men. This is due to more women smoking and to the type of work done. No longer did they stay home.
Indiana ranks #6 in men and #5 in women in incidence of new cases (2024). The State of Indiana ranks #8 in deaths among men and women (2024) as a [percentage population. Lung cancer among the Black population is high. Part of this is due to the high consumption of menthol cigarettes, especially in the men. In any patient, E cigarettes and vaping add to the problem. Patients with disabilities, alcohol abuse, and mental health issues have a higher rate of lung cancer due to smoking. Indiana has a poor report card in relation to lung cancer because of poor prevention, tax rates on tobacco, and flavored products. The cost of care in Indiana for smoking diseases is nearly $3 billion. Indiana also has a large amount of Radon in the soil. One in three homes is affected. Radon exposure is not healthy, but smoking makes it far worse.
CT scanning is an important screening tool for early stage one lung cancer detection. No IV contrast is needed. Indiana ranks #20 nationally in screening X-rays for lung cancer detection. The procedure is straightforward and is typically covered by insurance. Mortality is reduced by one-third on patients who have had three screenings. Immunotherapy is also an effective treatment. Decrease in lung cancer deaths started to decline in men in 1955, but not until 1987 for women.
Certain occupations, including iron workers and welders, have a higher incidence of lung cancer. Likewise, people in the military are at an increased risk. The carcinogens from smoking also travel to other organs, such as the kidneys, bladder, or pancreas and can cause cancer in these organs as well. Dr. Hanna stressed education and prevention to combat lung cancer.
Dr. Nasser Hanna MD
