Prostate, Lung, Colorectal & Ovarian screening
clinic reaches milestone
For Manuela Ortiz, it was about keeping a family commitment. After
37 hours of travel, which included a car, two buses and an airplane,
she arrived for her appointment at the last Prostate, Lung, Colorectal,
and Ovarian (PLCO)
screening clinic.
Manuela is one of more than 13,000 dedicated study participants at
the University of Colorado Cancer Center (154,000 nationwide) who
have made the largest screening trial in the nation possible. Although follow-up
will
go on until at least 2011, the PLCO reached a major milestone Oct.
4, completing the last of the clinical screenings.
 |
| Manuela Ortiz, a 67-year-old primary education professor, stands with Sally Tenorio, BSN, PLCO screener. Although Manuela lived in Colorado when she joined the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal & Ovarian (PLCO) study, she moved to a small town in Mexico two years ago to care for her ailing father. She traveled for 37 hours taking a car, two buses and an airplane to get to the last screening clinic of PLCO. Although PLCO offered some assistance with travel, Manuela’s family took up a collection to pay for additional travel expenses because they believe that her participation in the PLCO is “por nosotros y nuestros hijos, ” which translates to “for ourselves and our children.” |
Recruitment for the trial began in 1993, when the National Cancer
Institute spearheaded the national study to determine whether certain
cancer screening tests reduce deaths from prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian
cancer. UCCC was one of only 10 centers in the nation selected to
participate
in the study.
Men and women between the ages of 55 and 74 joined. Half were selected
by chance to receive specific screening tests, which included blood
tests for prostate cancer or ovarian cancer, digital rectal exams
for prostate cancer,
chest x-rays for lung cancer, flexible sigmoidoscopy for colorectal
cancer and a transvaginal ultrasound for ovarian cancer.
The other
half received routine care by their personal health care providers.
The screenings entailed
annual visits to the PLCO clinic for six years and annual questionnaires
and then follow-up questionnaires for seven more years to monitor
participants’ health.
Manuela is part of a special recruitment that UCCC launched in 1998
with additional funding from the NCI to increase Hispanic participation.
At that time, Colorado’s population was approximately 12.9 percent Hispanic,
but the PLCO Hispanic enrollment was only 3.6 percent. To make the study more
representative of Colorado’s population, the PLCO project staff developed
the theme "Por Nosotros y Nuestros Hijos," which translates to "For
Ourselves and Our Children” to increase Hispanic recruitment. The theme
was used in all program materials, including advertisements, posters
and pamphlets, and PLCO staff made personal visits to churches and
other community organizations
to encourage enrollment.
The efforts increased Hispanic enrollment from 295 to 1,278, which
amounted to 10 percent of the study participants.
“
Regardless of ethnic background, nearly all of the PLCO participants
take their role in this study very seriously,” said Sally Tenorio, BSN,
clinical nurse and PLCO screener. “They understand that the study results
will have effects for generations.”
Since the study population is so large and the time period is so
extended, PLCO staff makes a concentrated effort to communicate regularly
with participants to let them know how important every one of them
is to the study.
“
We send quarterly newsletters to keep participants informed,” Ed Gamito,
recruitment/retention coordinator with PLCO, said. “Sending birthday
cards during the appropriate months and an annual holiday card with
a pocket calendar is another way we let them know we are thinking
about them. We will
continue to do these things since we have several more years of follow-up.”
PLCO Facts:
Contract Awarded: 1992
Recruitment Began: 1993
Last Participant Enrolled: 2000
Last Screening: 2005
Follow-up ongoing until: at least 2011
Funding for UCCC study (including the National Lung Screening Trial,
an offshoot of PLCO): $32,458,995
Number of participants in Colorado: 13,167
