DEA: Research Shows Value Of WTC Body Scan

By REUVEN BLAU

Detectives' Endowment Association President Michael J. Palladino pointed out last week that a new medical study detailing the benefits of regular lung CT scans supported the health advantages of his program offering members who worked at Ground Zero a complete body scan designed to detect potential ailments.

MICHAEL PALLADINO: Lung study proves need.

Medical experts had questioned the DEA's plan, contending that the comprehensive test is not worth the dangers of added radiation exposure. They also argued that the broad scan often leads to false positives.

Helps Early Detection

Medical researchers at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital, however, published a report in The New England Journal of Medicine that concluded routine lung CT scans could save millions of lives by finding cancer in that area early.

"I feel vindicated," said Mr. Palladino, who announced the discount body scan pro gram for his members in July. The union president has maintained that it is important to take pro-active measures to better monitor and detect health problems of his members who worked at Ground Zero after 9/11.

The body scan test, which normally costs $850, is available to active Detectives for $175 and all retirees for $375. Inner Imaging, the company the DEA retained to conduct the exams, is affiliated with Beth Israel Medical Center.

Numerous reports have shown that first-responders who assisted in the rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero after the 9/11 terrorist attacks have incurred increased respiratory ailments and other potentially fatal sicknesses. Many of the city's Detectives sifted through rubble at Ground Zero, the City Morgue and the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island looking for evidence and other remnants.

Lung cancer is also the leading source of cancer deaths in the nation, killing more than 160,000 people annually.

FDA's Concern

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, however, has cautioned asymptomatic individuals against using the body scan test. "The FDA is recommending that people consider the drawbacks before they decide to have one of these scans," the oversight agency stated. "First of all, no manufacturer has submitted data to the FDA that demonstrate that this kind of screening is safe and effective."

In addition, some medical experts have questioned the results of the new medical study, noting that it didn't include comparison groups. The study involved more than 31,000 people in seven countries.

But Dr. Robert Smith, director of cancer screening at the American Cancer Society, told the New York Times that in light of the just-released study, it may be a good idea for smokers or former smokers to have regular lung scans.

Albert E. Barrette, the managing director of Inner Imaging, has asserted that complete body scans will save lives. The test, he said, has the ability to determine if someone has coronary heart disease and other lung and abdomen ailments years in advance.