NTOG connects researchers, clinicians, trial teams, students, PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and national lung cancer groups across the Nordic region.
NTOG supports clinical and translational thoracic oncology research across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
Many important research questions in lung cancer require larger and more diverse study populations than one Nordic country can provide alone. This is especially true for molecularly defined subgroups, rare clinical situations, early-phase translational studies, screening cohorts, and registry-based comparisons.
By working together, Nordic researchers can build stronger studies, recruit more effectively, and generate results that are relevant across the region.
NTOG provides a Nordic platform for connecting researchers, clinicians, trial teams, students, PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and national lung cancer groups.
Collaboration can start from a trial idea, translational question, screening pilot, student project, or registry comparison.
CTIS allows sponsors to apply for authorisation to run a clinical trial in multiple EU/EEA countries through one online application. This creates opportunities for Nordic trials with shared protocols, harmonised procedures, and coordinated site activation.
Nordic groups collaborate on tissue, blood, imaging, pathology, genomics, biomarkers, treatment response, toxicity, resistance, and clinical outcome data.
Low-dose CT screening pilots are developing at different stages across the Nordic countries, creating opportunities to compare recruitment, eligibility, workflows, nodule algorithms, smoking cessation, incidental findings, quality assurance, and implementation barriers.
Shared workspaces, video meetings, secure data platforms, and coordinated project documents make daily collaboration possible. In-person meetings remain important for trust, critique, and early idea development.
NTOG encourages cross-Nordic supervision, student projects, PhD collaboration, postdoctoral visits, short research stays, and presentation of developing work at NTOG-linked meetings.
Nordic registry-based research can compare care pathways, treatment use, quality indicators, outcomes, rare subgroups, and real-world implementation across healthcare systems.
The goal is to make Nordic translational research easier to initiate, easier to compare, and more robust scientifically.
Early-career collaboration should start early, before the project design is locked.
Students and early-career researchers are encouraged to present developing work at NTOG-linked meetings and to seek Nordic collaborators early in project planning.
Practical questions may be answered through existing NTOG contacts, or they may lead to new working groups, workshops, or multicentre study ideas.
Contact the Steering Committee member closest to your research area. NTOG can help identify suitable Nordic researchers, clinical groups, registry experts, translational laboratories, or screening teams.
Several Nordic groups work with clinical and translational lung cancer data, including tumour tissue, blood-based biomarkers, imaging, pathology, genomics, treatment response, and outcomes. NTOG can help connect researchers working on related questions and identify whether a multicentre approach is feasible.
Nordic screening pilots use partly different workflows, reflecting national programmes, radiology infrastructure, and implementation stage. NTOG supports comparison of these approaches and can help screening teams share protocols, nodule management algorithms, and quality assurance procedures.
Sites interested in joining a Nordic clinical trial should contact the trial lead or the relevant NTOG Steering Committee member. Early contact is recommended so feasibility, patient population, site capacity, contracts, regulatory requirements, and national approval timelines can be considered before submission or site activation.
Early results can be discussed through NTOG working groups, smaller workshops, and the Nordic Lung Cancer Symposium. NTOG encourages early presentation of developing ideas, especially when feedback could improve study design or support multicentre collaboration.
Start by defining which part of the project benefits from Nordic expansion: larger sample size, rare subgroup analysis, validation cohort, registry comparison, translational material, screening implementation, or broader generalisability. NTOG can help identify potential collaborators, data sources, and practical next steps.
Strong research networks require digital work and repeated personal contact.
Digital tools make daily collaboration possible across countries, but new ideas often develop fastest when researchers meet in the same room, discuss unfinished work, and identify shared problems.
NTOG supports both digital collaboration and in-person meetings. The Nordic Lung Cancer Symposium, NORTHDIP, and smaller working-group workshops remain important settings for developing studies, testing ideas, and building long-term Nordic research relationships.
To propose a study, find a collaborator, involve a student or PhD candidate, or connect with a Nordic working group, contact the relevant NTOG Steering Committee member.
You can also join the discussion through the NTOG LinkedIn group or contact the NTOG Chair or Secretary.