The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded a $673,000 grant to researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia to develop a test for the early detection of lung cancer.
Dr. Martin Edelman, chair of the department of hematology/oncology, received the translational research partnership award in collaboration with Creatv MicroTech. The grant will allow him and his team to focus on using cancer-associated macrophage-like (CAML) cells to characterize suspicious lung nodules. The test will serve as second-level screening for patients whose CT lung screening scans are inconclusive.
Fox Chase and the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center expect to begin patient enrollment toward the end of this year. Drs. Rohit Kumar and Anil Vachani are co-investigators on the study.
![Axial images from unenhanced calcium score cardiac CT (left) and curved planar reformation images from CT angiography (right) show that higher long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with greater coronary artery calcium and more obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Top row: Images in a 68-year-old male patient with higher 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (7.9 μg/m3 for particulate matter measuring ≤2.5 μm in diameter [PM2.5] and 17.4 parts per billion [ppb] for NO2) with extensive CAD (coronary artery calcium score [CACS] >1,000 and obstructive CAD [≥70% diameter stenosis]). Bottom row: Images in a 57-year-old female patient with lower 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (6.3 μg/m3 for PM2.5 and 4.6 ppb for NO2) with no CAD (CACS = 0 and no obstructive stenosis).](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/06/hanneman.r6SMLzkezo.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
