NEJM Says Henschke Conflicts Irrelevant; Propriety of Granting CME Questioned

From The Cancer Letter, March 14, 2008:

The study claiming dramatic benefits of computed tomography screening for lung cancer had the look of a landmark in medicine. The conclusion that a regimen of low-dose spiral CT scans could make lung cancer a curable disease was its most astounding feature.

More than a year after publication, the paper reporting the results of a single-arm trial by the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program is becoming a landmark of a different sort as its publisher, The New England Journal of Medicine, stands confronted with reports that the study’s principal authors were named as inventors on one issued U.S. patent and 26 patent applications worldwide, and that the first of these inventions was licensed by the leading manufacturer of CT scanners in 2001 (The Cancer Letter, Jan. 18).

Yet, the disclosure statement on the paper published in the Oct. 26, 2006, issue of the journal reads: “No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.”

Click on "The Cancer Letter Archive" at left to download the March 14 issue and read the rest of the story.
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tags: cancer screening