Overcoming the pitfalls of current lung cancer risk assessment: Improved lung nodule characterization by a novel plasma protein biomarker test

Pulmonologists frequently encounter indeterminate pulmonary nodules.Predicting the risk of developing lung cancer is a difficult task as evidenced by the high rate of overdiagnosis and overtreatment of indolent disease.There is an unmet clinical need for a non-invasive, easy to administer, diagnostic assay to help prevent the potentially serious consequences of overdiagnosis.Here we report on the clinical work-up of a high-risk patient with an indeterminate pulmonary nodule.This case suggests that applying a new blood test in a point of care setting in a community-based practice can accurately characterize scan identified, or incidentally found, lung nodules.The novel assay may potentially minimize aggressive interventions in patients with benign disease.