PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:
I. To provide screening for lung cancer in an underserved and high risk population for lung cancer.
II. To collect clinical and demographic information and research bio specimens prospectively on high risk individuals.
III. To analyze the association between suspected lung cancer risk factors and outcomes such as pre-malignant lesions and diagnosis of lung cancer.
IV. To identify and validate biomarkers that are associated with lung cancer risk factors and premalignant lesions.
V. To assess the association between patient characteristics and test results to the genetic and histological characteristics of lung preinvasive lesions and cancers.
VI. To describe this high-risk cohort and to identify the patients eligible for future clinical trials (e.g. chemoprevention).
OUTLINE:
Patients are followed up at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years and undergo collection of sputum, nasal epithelium, buccal epithelium, blood, and urine samples. Patients also undergo pulmonary function tests, chest CT, and review of medical records.
