SPUTNIK (CI: Steve George), a trial of Dynamic Contrast Enhanced CT scans for the diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodules, will use the IPCARD questionnaire (sub-study lead: Lucy Brindle) to identify symptoms that distinguish between malignant and non-malignant pulmonary nodules.
Rationale: A small proportion of patients with lung cancer present with a solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) on diagnostic imaging tests. This is an important group of patients because presentation as a SPN represents early disease with high 5 year survival rates following surgical resection. However, not all SPNs are due to lung cancer and the accurate characterisation of SPNs for diagnosis of early stage lung cancer is a diagnostic challenge with significant associated health costs.
Widely adopted clinical guidelines for the subsequent investigation of SPNs recommend serial CT scans to look for subsequent growth with biopsy to confirm diagnosis. UK, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend FDG-PET for the assessment of SPN in cases where a biopsy is not possible or has failed.
DEC-CT and FDG-PET scans give different information about the SPN. Information from either scan or combined information from both scans may be better in the diagnosis of early stage lung cancer.
This is a multi-centre study. Team at University of Southampton:
Steve George (CI)
Jackie Madden (Study co-ordinator)
Lucy Brindle (Co-investigator)
Anindo Banerjee: PI (Southampton)
HTA
Lung cancer diagnosis
Surveillance of SPNs