Journal of the National Cancer Institute Advance Access originally published online on April 7, 2009
JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2009 101(8):554-559; doi:10.1093/jnci/djp023
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Published by Oxford University Press 2009.
COMMENTARY |
Lung Cancer and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Needs and Opportunities for Integrated Research
Affiliations of authors: Division of Lung Diseases, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD (AP, TLC); Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD (ES); Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (SDS); David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA (SMD)
Correspondence to: Antonello Punturieri, MD, PhD, Division of Lung Diseases, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Rm 10146, 6701 Rockledge Dr, Bethesda, MD 20892-7952 (e-mail: punturieria{at}nhlbi.nih.gov).
Lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States and worldwide. They share a common environmental risk factor in cigarette smoke exposure and a genetic predisposition represented by the incidence of these diseases in only a fraction of smokers. The presence of COPD increases the risk of lung cancer up to 4.5-fold. To investigate commonalities in disease mechanisms and perspectives for disease chemoprevention, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) held a workshop. The participants identified four research objectives: 1) clarify common epidemiological characteristics of lung cancer and COPD; 2) identify shared genetic and epigenetic risk factors; 3) identify and validate biomarkers, molecular signatures, and imaging-derived measurements of each disease; and 4) determine common and disparate pathogenetic mechanisms. These objectives should be reached via four research approaches: 1) identify, publicize, and enable the evaluation and analysis of existing datasets and repositories of biospecimens; 2) obtain phenotypic and outcome data and biospecimens from large studies of subjects with and/or at risk for COPD and lung cancer; 3) develop and use animal and other preclinical models to investigate pathogenetic links between the diseases; and 4) conduct early-phase clinical trials of potential chemopreventive agents. To foster much needed research interactions, two final recommendations were made by the participants: 1) incorporate baseline phenotyping and outcome measures for both diseases in future longitudinal studies of each disease and 2) expand collaborative efforts between the NCI and NHLBI.
Manuscript received October 6, 2008; revised January 2, 2009; accepted January 21, 2009.
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