MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2000 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Representatives Stevens, Holland, Capps, Moody, Brown

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING DR. PATRICK SEWELL AND DR. RALPH VANCE FOR THEIR RESEARCH OF ANOTHER EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR LUNG CANCER, OFFICIALLY KNOWN AS THE GUANGZHOU, CHINA, STUDY.

WHEREAS, Dr. Patrick Sewell and Dr. Ralph Vance traveled to Guangzhou, China, to perform tests and procedures for an effective treatment for lung cancer; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Sewell, an assistant professor of radiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, developed the interventional radiology procedure called radiofrequency lung tumor ablation and is considered the world's authority on it; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Sewell performed this procedure for the first time in the world at UMC in 1999, and the Guangzhou, China, Study marked the first time the procedure's effectiveness on primary tumors was tested and the first time follow-up PET scans were performed; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Vance, an oncologist and UMC professor of medicine, accompanied Dr. Sewell on the first trip to China and designed the protocols for the surgeries for the second trip in October 1999; and

WHEREAS, the procedure kills cancer cells with a radiofrequency probe, which is inserted into the tumors and guided by interventional CAT scan images; and

WHEREAS, within a day or two after their surgeries, all of the China patients had follow-up PET scans, which detect metabolic activity in live cells, such as cancer cells; and

WHEREAS, the Guangzhou, China, Study's aim was to prove this procedure kills both metastasized (cancer that has spread) and primary (nonmetastasized) tumors of the lung; and

WHEREAS, in Dr. Sewell's procedure, there is less trauma to the body and a much shorter recovery period than for conventional surgery or chemotherapy; and

WHEREAS, in 1995, when General Electric invited the Medical Center to be one of the three original test sites in the United States for the MRI, this Legislature quickly responded to the Medical Center's request for funding and committed $6,000,000.00 to be distributed over four years for the project; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to recognize and commend such outstanding physicians as Dr. Sewell and Dr. Vance, whose research and development will improve the quality of health for the citizens of Mississippi and people all over the world:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Dr. Patrick Sewell and Dr. Ralph Vance for their outstanding and dedicated research in developing a new and effective treatment for lung cancer.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Dr. Patrick Sewell, Dr. Ralph Vance and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.