Alarmed by possible conflicts of interest, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is calling on the National Cancer Institute to investigate the financial records of members of a panel charged with recommending standards on lung-cancer screening, the Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 23.

The credibility of the $200-million, decade-long National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) was called into question when it was revealed that some researchers on the project had previously been paid witnesses for the tobacco industry. Two of the principal investigators had supported the industry in court on cases where plaintiffs were demanding that tobacco companies be forced to pay for annual CT scans for smokers.

"The tobacco industry has clear financial interest in the outcome of the NLST," said a letter to the National Cancer Institute sent by committee chairman Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich). "If the NLST produces a negative or inconclusive result, the tobacco industry could use these findings to defend itself from litigation seeking low-dose CT screening of lung cancer as a remedy."

The committee is looking for information on panel members' consulting relationships, expert-witness work, research funding sources, and other possible conflicts of interest.