Lung Cancer Screening in Family Members and Peers of Lung Cancer Patients: a Prospective Cohort Study

Lung cancer screening of active or former heavy smokers with yearly low-dose CT allows for earlier diagnosis and better lung cancer survival. Risk of developing lung cancer is higher among family members and close contacts of lung cancer patients, because of shared genetics, environment and life habits like smoking. The investigators want to engage lung cancer patients to refer their family members and close contacts for lung cancer screening, and evaluate if this referred population have higher risk of lung cancer than the population referred by their family doctors.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Lung Cancer; Patient Empowerment; Lung Cancer Screening

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 100

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Quebec
    • Montréal, Quebec, Canada
      • MUHC

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

1. Lung cancer patient recruited at clinics at the MUHC.
2. Close contacts of lung cancer patients referred to our study

Description

Lung cancer patients:

Inclusion Criteria:

• > 18 years old
• Current or former lung cancer patient

Exclusion Criteria: none

Referred participants Inclusion criteria: >18 years old Exclusion criteria: Personal history of lung cancer.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Cohort
• Time Perspectives: Prospective

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Lung cancer patient; Lung cancer patients or lung cancer survivors willing to refer close contacts for lung cancer screening
Referred participants; Participants referred to the study by close contacts living with lung cancer.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mean number of referrals for lung cancer screening per participants	Mean number of referrals for lung cancer screening per participants: lung cancer participants will refer contacts directly on the REDCap questionnaire at enrollment. They will be contacted a second time 2 weeks after enrollment and asked if they referred additional people in their entourage for lung cancer screening.	2 weeks post inclusion
Mean PLCOm2012 risk prediction model score among referred participants	Mean risk of developing lung cancer in the next 6 years using the validated PLCOm2012 risk prediction model in smokers or ex-smokers referred participants that are 55 to 74 years old.	baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of visitors on our website for referred participants	Quantification of people who visited the website for close contacts of lung cancer patients: Number of unique access to website based on google analytics data.	6 months
Number of people who started to fill the enrollment form for referred participants.	Number of people who started to fill the enrollment form for referred participants.	6 months
Number of referred participants who enrolled in the study.	Number of referred participants who enrolled in the study.	6 months
PLCO score as a binary outcome (above or below 2%) among referred participants		baseline
Proportion of LCS eligible participants who will complete lung cancer screening within 18 months of referral by a lung cancer patient	Proportion of LCS eligible participants who will complete lung cancer screening within 18 months of referral by a lung cancer patient	18 months
Proportion of individuals who would theoretically demonstrate interest in genetic testing to assess for lung cancer risk.	Proportion of individuals who would theoretically demonstrate interest in genetic testing to assess for lung cancer risk.	baseline
Proportion of individuals who demonstrate interest in referral to a smoking cessation program among referred participants that are current smokers	Proportion of individuals who demonstrate interest in referral to a smoking cessation program among referred participants that are current smokers	baseline
Anxiety regarding lung cancer for referred participants	GAD7	baseline
Anxiety regarding lung cancer for referred participants	GAD7	1 month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Nicole Ezer, MD, FRCPC, MPH
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Nicole Ezer, MD, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 12, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): April 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 1, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 8, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): December 9, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 11, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 6, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Tract Neoplasms; Thoracic Neoplasms; Lung Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: MP-37-2023-9041

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No