How to Participate

Commonly called a “spot on the lung” or a “shadow,” a nodule is a round area more dense than normal lung tissue. It shows up as a white spot on a CT scan. Lung nodules are usually caused by scar tissue, a healed infection that may never have made you sick, or some irritant in the air. Sometimes, a lung nodule can be an early lung cancer.

Nodules in the lungs are quite common and occur in 30% of the healthy population. Most nodules are not cancer, but for a small number of the nodules may turn out to be early cancer. There is a standard clinical guideline on how nodules are managed. It is based on the sizes and the types of the nodules. Most nodules are followed by low-dose lung CT scans.

Even though incidental pulmonary nodules can be common, a small group of them are early lung cancers. Unfortunately, majority (approximately 80%) of IPNs are not being monitored with repeat CT scans to check for growth, therefore an early cancer can be missed. The IDEAL study is using creative solutions to ensure most IPNs are monitored until they are either considered benign and no longer require continuous monitoring, or an early cancer is diagnosed and treated. Patients with IPNs participating in the IDEAL study will be monitored according to the current clinical guidelines by the team physicians. In addition, our research team are developing novel tools using breath and blood biomarkers to improve detection of early lung cancer. When lung cancer is found in its very early stages, it is likely to respond well to the treatment.

Approximately 3600 Canadian residents with lung nodules in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec will be participating in this study.

Depending on your residence, please contact our participating institutes in British Columbia, Ontario or Quebec. Please see details on how to participate, and who to contact.

The study visits usually take less than one hour to complete for all components.

Your nodules will be monitored by the participating physicians according to the clinical guidelines. There is no compensation for participation per se. We hope that the information learned from this study can be used in the future to benefit other people at risk for developing lung cancer

Depending on your residence, you are welcome to contact our Study Coordinators located in Vancouver, Toronto or Laval. Our Study Coordinators will be able answer any questions you may have. Please see details on who to contact.