Grant: Collaborative Health Research Projects

In Canada, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death accounting for over a quarter of*all cancer deaths in men and women. The National Lung Screening Trial showed that lowdose*spiral CT imaging can reduce cancer mortality by 20% in high-risk smokers compared to*standard chest x-ray, primarily by detecting early stage cancer nodules, the majority of which*are small (<9mm) and located in the lung periphery. For definitive lung cancer diagnosis and*treatment planning, a physician must locate and sample suspected lung cancer nodules. The*safest way to locate and sample lung nodules is using a bronchoscope; however, they are too*large to access the small peripheral airways. We have recently pioneered a new fiber optic*imaging catheter that is 0.9 mm in diameter that shows promise for locating peripheral lung*nodules. This imaging modality, called optical coherence tomography autofluorescence*imaging (OCT-AFI) can image changes in the composition and structural features of lung*tissue that occur in early lung cancer.*The goal of this proposal is 1) to further develop innovations to improve the resolution and*contrast in OCT-AFI 2); to enable reflectance and narrow-band imaging via the same*catheter; 3) to miniaturize the catheters further (<0.5mm) to allow access to even smaller*airways; and 4) to develop methods for quantifying lung tissue features. These innovations*should increase the ability to locate lung nodules in almost all areas of the lungs. This nextgeneration*endoscopic imaging instrument will be tested in a small study population.*The research team comes from diverse backgrounds with extensive experience developing*clinically proven optical imaging devices, and a wealth of clinical research history in the*diagnosis and management of lung cancer. This research has great potential to affect clinical*practice to improve patient care in Canada and worldwide by providing a sensitive and*accurate instrument for locating early lung cancer.*