Liverpool Lung Project
Background

The Liverpool Lung Project (LLP) is a ten year study researching into the early detection of lung cancer. The LLP hypothesis is the use of molecular-epidemiological risk assessments prior to clinical diagnosis and markers of pre-clinical carcinogenesis in patients with a high risk of developing lung cancer will reduce the incidence of clinically detectable lung cancer, given the appropriate intervention strategies.

There are two main arms of the study; the case recruitment arm and a population based prospective cohort.

Aims & Objectives

• To prepare a molecular genetic and epidemiological risk assessment model based on the analysis of environmental exposures and genetic predisposition, which will provide an algorithm to measure an individual’s risk for developing lung cancer.
• To develop an archive of specimens relating to at-risk individuals and those with lung cancer.
• To redefine lung cancer based on molecular pathology using the fields of expression & methylation profiling, and genetic instability.
• To identify and assess novel markers of pre-carcinogenesis in our high-risk populations.
• To facilitate the development of new intervention strategies, i.e. chemoprevention.

The Liverpool Lung Project Protocol