Trials

New York Female Asian Nonsmoker Screening Study (FANSS)

Elaine Shum, MD, and Donna Shelley, MD, MPH. NYU Langone Medical Center

Subject Matter: Lung Cancer

Investigator Contact: Dr. Elaine Shum - (212) 731-6212, FANSS@nyulangone.org

Website: https://med.nyu.edu/departments-institutes/perlmutter-cancer-center/cancer-research/disease-management-groups/thoracic-oncology-research/new-york-female-asian-nonsmoker-screening-study

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer death in the United States and lung cancer is often associated with a smoking history. However, it is less well known that approximately 20% of lung cancer is diagnosed in non-smokers. In particular, Asian female nonsmokers appear to have higher incidences of lung cancer based on large studies done in Asia. Early detection of lung cancer at early stages through lung cancer screening provides the best chance of cure.

The New York Female Asian Nonsmoker Screening Study (FANSS) is a research study being con- ducted at NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center. It will evaluate the feasibility of performing low dose CT Chest (LDCT) scans paired with a blood-based assay to potentially early detect cancer.

Eligibility Criteria

• Women of Asian descent,

• ages 40-74 years old,

• never smokers or less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, and

• living in the New York metropolitan area, Long Island and Westchester will be invited.

Eligible women will undergo free LDCT scans yearly for 3 years, have one tube of blood drawn yearly for 3 years, and be administered a questionnaire inquiring about medical history, family history and environmental exposures. The project is an IRB-approved protocol at NYU Langone Medical Center (#S20-00212) with principal investigator Dr. Elaine Shum. Members are encouraged to learn more about this project by emailing FANSS@nyulangone.org or by phone (212)731-6212.

Positive Minds Strong Bodies Study: A Program For elders To Manage Stress and Improve Physical Health

Subject Matter: Geriatric Stress

Investigator Contact: Dr. Sahnah Lim at sahnah.lim@nyulangone.org or Janet Pan at janet.pan@nyulangone.org

Intervention Group: Participants randomized to the intervention group will receive 10 individual psycho- social intervention sessions and 36 group exercise sessions. Once the program is completed, they can join group maintenance sessions for each component.

Control group: Each participant in the control group will receive information about depression and anxie- ty, and the importance of taking care of mental and physical health. Control group participants will be contacted by phone every other week for a symptom assessment.

Both groups will be assessed at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months and will receive a gift card for their time.

In response to COVID-19, we will offer the program via phone and zoom video conference.

ELIGIBILITY:

- Age 60+

- Fluency in English, Spanish, Mandarin or Cantonese Chinese

- With mild, moderate or severe depressive or anxiety symptoms

- Without any specialty mental health care in the past 3 months. Participants using anti-depressants will be included.

- People with severe mobility limitations will be excluded.

Development of lung cancer screening survey questionnaire YL Tan, NYU Center for Study of Asian American Health

Subject Matter: Lung Cancer

Physician Survey Link: https://redcap.link/LuCAS 

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) changed the lung cancer screening recommendations in March 2021.

The new recommendations are as follows; Adults aged 50 to 80 years who have a 20 pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years:

• Screen for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (CT) every year. 
• Stop screening once a person has not smoked for 15 years or has a health problem that limits life expectancy or the ability to have lung surgery.

The NYU Center for the Study of Asian American Health seeks to develop an educational and social media campaign to promote lung cancer screening in at-risk Chinese Americans. Com- pleting this survey would help us design a culturally tailored educational campaign to increase lung cancer screening. This survey should take approximately 5 minutes to complete. No iden- tifying information will be collected and your responses will remain confidential. Thank you very much for your participation!

Breast Cancer Screening in Immigrant Women

Subject Matter: Breast Cancer

Investigator Contact: Carina Yuk Man Tang - (212) 824-7802, yukman.tang@mssm.edu

Website: https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials/increasing-breast-cancer-screening-in-chinese-immigrants

Dr. Lina Jandorf at the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine is conducting a study to learn about the needs of Chinese immigrant women in accessing breast cancer screening. Eligible participants are either a) Chinese women 40 years or older who were born in China and can read and speak English, Cantonese and/or Mandarin, or b) a Chinese community leader or gate- keeper who can read and speak English, Cantonese or Mandarin. Interested eligible persons should speak with Carina Yuk Man Tang at (212) 824-7802, or email yukman.tang@mssm.edu.

Diabetes Care Project

Subject Matter: Diabetes

Investigator Contact: Dr. Lu Hu - (347) 390-2416, lu.hu@nyulangone.org

Website: https://med.nyu.edu/faculty/lu-huhttps://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials/increasing-breast-cancer-screening-in-chinese-immigrants

CARE (Chinese American Research and Education) Project

Dr. Lu Hu is an Assistant Professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She is currently leading 2 NIH funded studies focusing on using WeChat to deliver culturally and linguistically tailored diabetes education videos to low-income Chinese immigrants with diabetes. The preliminary data from her pilot study demonstrated high acceptability and feasibility of the intervention and had a significant 0.6% reduction in HbA1c at 6-months follow up. Dr. Hu is seeking to recruit more Chinese immigrants with T2D and examine the efficacy of this CARE program in a random- ized clinical trial. If you are interested in providing this virtual diabetes program to your pa- tients, please feel free to call her at 347-380-2416 or email her at lu.hu@nyulangone.org.

Gilead Patient Education Project 

Subject Matter: Hepatitis B

Investigator Contact: 1 (877) 311-0783, taylor@mypatientstory.com

Gilead is asking for your help in identifying patients who have been prescribed VEMLIDY (tenofovir) and may be willing to participate in educational initiatives sponsored by Gilead, aimed at providing support to patients diagnosed with chronic Hepatitis B.

Desired Individual Criteria:

• Diagnosed with chronic Hepatitis B 
• Patient currently taking VEMLIDY (tenofovir) 
• Interested in sharing their story about living with Hep B and experience taking VEMLIDY 
• Bi-lingual (preferred) 
• Based on Hep B prevalence, representative of Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Nigerian ethnicities 
• Ability to travel, if needed

If you know of anyone who may fit the above criteria, please ask candidates to self-nominate by calling: 1-877-311-0783 or Email: taylor@mypatientstory.com

Study Information: Counseling for Chinese Cancer Patients

Subject Matter: Cancer 

Investigator Contact: Miss Chloe Chan, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, (917) 692-9569

By Florence Lui, PhD -- With my colleague and mentor Dr. Jennifer Leng, I have been working on a project to cultural- ly adapt Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy (MCP)—a humanistic-existential counseling inter- vention first developed by Drs. William Breitbart and Shannon Poppito at Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center to improve quality of life in advanced cancer—for Chinese cancer pa- tients. We have completed the first iteration of our adaptation and are now enrolling patients into a pilot trial. This has been both rewarding and challenging work. Below are a few themes and related questions that undertaking this project has raised. I hope these issues will reso- nate with CAMS members and would love to hear your responses and thoughts. I also hope you will consider referring those in your network (patients, family members, or friends) to participate in our study (see last paragraph for details).

Human beings crave and need meaning in our lives. Mental health stigma in the Chinese community is real and pervasive
Caring for patients across or within cultures is rarely a one-size-fits-all proposition. 

Patients may be eligible if they are:

• Over 18 years old
• Of Chinese descent
• Speak Mandarin
• Have advanced cancer of any type 
• Reside in New York State 

Patients may be able to join our study to receive specialized support and counseling. Your in- volvement will allow us to find ways to help Chinese patients cope with cancer. Study partici- pants will receive a total of $100 for completing the study and will receive 6 free 60-mintue counseling sessions, delivered by videoconference or telephone by a trained psychologist.