Mercy physician's JAMA article addresses
potential risks posed by uranium contamination in
St. Louis dating back to
1949
ST.
LOUIS, July 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cancer
screenings save countless lives each year. While improved
technology means more lives saved, reaching underserved and
low-income communities can be difficult.
Dr. Gautum Agarwal, urologic
oncologist and director of Mercy's Office of Precision Medicine,
co-authored an opinion article published in the June 28 issue of the Journal of American
Medical Association Oncology titled "Advancing Precision Equity
With Multicancer Detection Liquid Biopsies."
The article touches on St.
Louis' history as a critical, but often forgotten, site for
uranium processing for the atomic bomb. The inappropriate storage
of waste was followed by years of silent leakage contaminating
Coldwater Creek, which runs through north St. Louis County near schools and
neighborhoods, potentially putting anyone who spent time there at
higher risk of certain cancers.
The article states, "The emergence of minimally invasive liquid
biopsy tests that analyze cell-free DNA (and other emerging
biomarkers) to detect cancers early has the potential to help
correct decades of injustice in St.
Louis and beyond."
For decades, it continues, "silent leakage contaminated this
otherwise nondescript waterway, which was frequented by children
and families throughout summers and ran close to local schools and
parks. The underserved community exposed to this waste may have
increased risk of cancers, including lung cancer, bone sarcoma, and
leukemia, but public health studies of the community at the time
did not recommend cancer screening of residents, likely reflecting
limited technologies in a pre-liquid biopsy era."
Some physicians see the advent of the latest advancement,
multi-cancer early detection blood tests, as the path to
fulfilling the promise of expanding detection to a wider range of
cancers while addressing health disparities along the way.
The multi-cancer early detection test is not yet covered by
insurance, making the cost an obstacle for many. Mercy offers a
percentage of free tests to those considered high-risk who are
unable to pay. It will soon participate in GRAIL's
Real-world Evidence to Advance Multi-Cancer Early
Detection Health Equity (REACH) study, which enrolls patients
with a preference for those from underserved communities free of
charge.
"This is the first version of multi-cancer early detection
testing," Dr. Agarwal said. "As additional trials are completed and
the test becomes more efficient in terms of the cost to run the
samples, we expect the cost to decrease over time."
Mercy, one of the 20 largest U.S. health systems and
named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient
experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally
recognized care and one of the nation's largest and
highest performing Accountable Care Organizations in quality and
cost. Mercy is a highly integrated,
multi-state health care system including more than
50 acute care and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and
rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations,
imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has over 900
physician practice locations and outpatient
facilities, more than 4,500 physicians and
advanced practitioners and 50,000 co-workers
serving patients and families across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics,
outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In fiscal year 2023 alone,
Mercy provided more than half a billion dollars of free care and
other community benefits, including traditional charity care and
unreimbursed Medicaid.
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SOURCE Mercy