The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recently chose four research teams to receive grants supported by Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) (FRA: 6MK).
Announced on Apr. 16, these awards support quality improvement projects that boost lung cancer screening rates to better match expert guidelines and reduce care gaps across communities. The exact funding amount was not specified.
The selected teams include researchers at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York, who will test the efficacy of a social network-based intervention called “The I CAN Intervention” to increase access and lower disparities.
At Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, funding will help a team working on the Imaging for Timely Screening (LIFT) project. Furthermore, researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania will use their grant to propel an initiative called Bridging Communities and Clinics to Improve Lung Cancer Screening.
Lastly, the team at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital will use their award to help develop a multilevel intervention to support retention in annual lung cancer screening, as specified in a news release from the NCCN.
Each group will complete its work within two years while testing practical approaches to get more people screened and keep them in follow-up care. Leaders at NCCN point out that effective screening saves lives, but many adults who qualify still do not receive it. They hope these efforts will expand access to optimal care and improve patient outcomes.
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Merck’s longstanding push against lung cancer
This new funding continues Merck’s steady efforts in the fight against this deadly disease.
Currently, the major pharmaceutical company runs an initiative called Mission Lung Cancer. It too aims to address the low national screening rate, which stands at only about 18 per cent for eligible Americans.
Additionally, Merck works with the American Cancer Society on the “Get Screened” campaign that reaches thousands of people with straightforward information on who should get tested and what to do next. The company also backs independent research through its Investigator Studies Program. These studies look at better risk models, artificial intelligence tools for reading scans and strategies to involve high-risk groups, especially in underserved areas.
Merck scientists study the full patient journey from early symptoms to diagnosis and push for quicker action because catching the disease early greatly improves survival chances.
New screening tools offer other alternatives nationwide
Other promising innovations are also improving early detection across the United States or show great promise for doing so in the future.
In Florida, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System has paired low-dose CT scans with artificial intelligence software from Eon. This AI reviews radiology reports for lung nodules found during unrelated tests. From 2022 to 2025, the program assessed more than 9,000 patients and identified 144 lung cancers with 67 per cent caught at early stages — well above national averages. In 2025 alone, the team diagnosed 53 lung cancers with 75 per cent at stage I or II, which greatly raises the odds of successful treatment.
In Kentucky, Breath Diagnostics has developed OneBreath, a simple breath test that collects volatile organic compounds from a single exhale. The system applies special chemistry and rapid lab analysis to identify early-stage lung cancer with high accuracy. Patients breathe into the device and results return quickly, making the process less costly and complicated than traditional approaches.
Researchers have also tested Sybil, a deep-learning AI model that predicts a person’s future lung cancer risk straight from standard low-dose CT images. A 2025 study at an urban safety-net hospital showed the tool performs well in a diverse group, thereby confirming its usefulness for wider screening efforts.
Read more: Prestigious medtech intelligence firm recognizes Breath Diagnostics for innovation
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