Expert Witness Blog
The National Lung Screening Trial is tracking 50,000 smokers over nine years at a cost of $200 million. Funded by the National Cancer Institute, the study is expected to have a major impact on whether regular CT scans for smokers will become a standard of care and whether tobacco companies would have to pay for them. The Lung Cancer Alliance maintains that two of the study’s key researchers have conflicts of interest because they have been hired by tobacco companies as defense radiology expert witnesses. David Armstrong of WallStreetJournal.com also writes:
In a written response to the Lung Cancer Alliance, the NCI said the expert witness work was appropriate. “Service as an expert witness, presenting independent analyses based on published medical literature, is a commonly accepted activity for physicians, researchers, and other experts and in the instance of the specific circumstances described did not violate the required disclosure guidelines of the organizations involved,” NCI director John Niederhuber wrote.
To read more see Critics Question Objectivity Of Government Lung-Scan Study by David Armstrong