Lung cancer specialist joins USA Health

USA Health is expanding its oncology care team with the addition of Brian E. Persing, M.D., a board-certified medical oncologist and hematologist who will see patients at the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute, the region’s only academic cancer treatment center.

Persing, who will be an assistant professor of interdisciplinary clinical oncology, will specialize in the treatment of lung cancer. He will see patients at the Mitchell Cancer Institute’s two Mobile locations.

“The most rewarding part of caring for patients that are dealing with cancer is to see them return to living and enjoying life,” he said

Board certified in oncology and hematology, Persing has more than a decade of experience treating cancer patients.

He will help to build a multidisciplinary team focused on lung cancer screening and treatment that will also include pulmonologists, pathologists, surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists. In 2019, USA Health became the first academic medical center in Alabama to combine the Auris Health Monarch robotic bronchoscopy system with Rapid On-Site Evaluation to provide an immediate lung cancer diagnosis for patients, potentially preventing repeated procedures.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and women in the U.S. and worldwide. In recent years, immunotherapy has significantly improved the outlook for lung cancer patients, the majority of whom are diagnosed with advanced disease, Persing said. Studies also have pointed to the benefits of using a low-dose CT scan to screen people at high risk of developing lung cancer.

Persing earned his medical degree from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. He completed an internship and residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in hematology/oncology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss. His research interests will include lung cancer, physician-patient communication and cancer screening.