Electronic Precinct - July 1999

Liverpool Lung Project: earlier edentification of lung cancer risk

Genetic material obtained as part of a non-invasive examination could be used to identify individuals who are at risk of developing lung cancer before they display clinical symptoms, according to researchers at the Roy Castle International Centre for Lung Cancer Research in the University.

Research undertaken in the preliminary stages of a ten-year lung cancer project has found that genetic markers in fluid from the lungs of lung cancer patients were also present in fluid from the lungs of a number of individuals with no clinically detectable lung cancer. This second group of indivi duals is being monitored as part of the ongoing project.

Professor John Field, Director of Research at the Roy Castle International Centre, said: 'Lung cancer is the most common malignancy in men in the UK. Sadly, many patients have progressed to advanced disease before their tumours are detected by conventional diagnostic techniques. The presence of t he same genetic markers in material obtained from the lungs of cancer patients and from the lungs of people who are not cancer patients suggests that a combination of sophisticated genetic techniques and a non-invasive examination in a health centre could identify individuals who are at risk of dev eloping the disease. Early identification of such individuals would greatly improve the effectiveness of treatment.'

The findings were described in a paper published in the American journal Cancer Research in June. The paper, by Professor Field and his team, is entitled 'Genetic alterations in bronchial lavage as a potential marker for individuals with a high risk of developing lung cancer'.

The Liverpool Lung Project is one of the largest population-based studies in lung cancer in the world. It is monitoring a selected group of individuals in Merseyside over the ten-year period 1998-2008. The aim is to use molecular genetic techniques in conjunction with epidemiological (lifestyle) risk assessments to identify individuals who are at risk of developing lung cancer.

The paper makes it clear that the technology is still at a developmental stage and may not be available for routine screening for some time.