The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has awarded a $5 million grant to Maine Medical Center in Portland to support a statewide lung cancer screening initiative.
The four-year, multi-institution Maine Lung Cancer Prevention and Screening (Maine LungCAPS) Initiative is intended to improve the prevention, early detection, and treatment of lung cancer in Maine, which has some of the highest incidence and death rates due to the disease in the country, the company said.
The effort will be led by principal investigator Dr. Paul Han of Maine Medical Center's Research Institute.
The Maine Cancer Foundation is the main co-funder of the project and will contribute $400,000. In addition, the Maine Economic Improvement Fund, through the University of Southern Maine, will contribute $200,000, according to the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.
