2022 LCRF Research Grant on Early Detection and Pre-Neoplasia in Lung Cancer
Tim Lautenschlaeger, MD
Indiana University
Research Project:
24-hour urine based ctDNA analysis for early stage NSCLC detection
Summary:
Imagine giving your doctor a urine sample to determine if you have lung cancer. Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine could make that idea a reality with a grant from the Lung Cancer Research Foundation. Urine samples from lung cancer patients and individuals at high risk of developing lung cancer will be tested for circulating tumor DNA, a form of DNA found only in cancer patients. While blood tests can be used to detect circulating tumor DNA, the amount in blood is too low for them to be useful in cancer screening. Urine has been shown to contain far larger amounts of circulating tumor DNA and is safer and easier to collect. If successful, this urine-based cancer screening test could make looking for lung cancer easier and encourage more people to get screened.