Nordic Lung Cancer Research
The Nordic Thoracic Oncology Group (NTOG) supports collaborative lung cancer and thoracic oncology research across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Through Nordic cooperation, NTOG aims to strengthen clinical research, registry-based studies, translational science, education, and quality improvement in lung cancer care.
The Nordic Thoracic Oncology Group (NTOG) is a multidisciplinary network of clinicians and researchers working in lung cancer and thoracic oncology across the Nordic countries. NTOG brings together expertise from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden to support research collaboration, education, clinical development, and improved care for patients with thoracic cancers.
NTOG research focuses on clinically important questions in lung cancer and thoracic oncology. Key areas include Nordic lung cancer registries, quality indicators, multidisciplinary care pathways, lung cancer screening, pulmonary nodule management, Stage III non-small cell lung cancer, small-cell lung cancer, clinical trial collaboration, radiotherapy, biomarkers, and translational research.
Key research themes include:
Nordic collaboration is important because many lung cancer research questions require larger patient populations, shared clinical expertise, and comparable healthcare data. Modern lung cancer is increasingly divided into smaller biological and clinical subgroups, making cross-country collaboration especially valuable for academic studies, registry research, biomarker projects, and clinical trials.
By working together, the Nordic countries can compare treatment pathways, evaluate outcomes, develop shared research questions, and create stronger evidence for improving lung cancer care.
NTOG brings together thoracic oncology professionals from the five Nordic countries:
NTOG supports several types of lung cancer and thoracic oncology research, including clinical trials, registry-based studies, translational research, biomarker studies, screening implementation research, quality-of-care studies, and multidisciplinary care pathway research.
The goal is to support research that can improve diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and outcomes for patients with lung cancer and other thoracic cancers.
Nordic lung cancer registries and national cancer data resources can support research on diagnosis, treatment, survival, quality indicators, variation in care, and real-world outcomes. Registry-based research is particularly valuable for identifying differences between healthcare systems and for evaluating whether changes in clinical practice improve patient outcomes.
Harmonised registry research can also help Nordic researchers study rare subgroups, compare treatment strategies, and develop shared quality improvement initiatives.
Lung cancer quality indicators are measures used to evaluate the quality of lung cancer diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. They may include factors such as time to diagnosis, completeness of staging, access to multidisciplinary team review, treatment rates, use of molecular testing, survival, and patient outcomes.
Comparing quality indicators across the Nordic countries can help identify variation in care and support improvements in clinical pathways.
Lung cancer screening aims to detect lung cancer at an earlier and more treatable stage, usually by using low-dose computed tomography, also called low-dose CT. Screening is generally focused on people who have an increased risk of lung cancer, such as current or former smokers meeting specific risk criteria.
Nordic screening pilots are helping answer practical questions about eligibility criteria, recruitment, CT workflows, radiology reporting, incidental findings, smoking cessation support, cost-effectiveness, and national implementation.
A pulmonary nodule is a small finding in the lung, usually detected on CT imaging. Most pulmonary nodules are benign, but some require follow-up to exclude early lung cancer. Clear nodule management is important to detect cancer early while avoiding unnecessary investigations, referrals, and patient anxiety.
NTOG members are working toward a Pan-Nordic approach to pulmonary nodule follow-up and diagnostic pathways. This work is closely connected to lung cancer screening and clinical guideline development.
Stage III non-small cell lung cancer is a complex area of lung cancer care that often requires input from several specialties, including oncology, pulmonology, thoracic surgery, radiology, pathology, and radiotherapy. Research in this field includes chemoradiotherapy, immunotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy techniques, biomarkers, patient selection, toxicity, survival, and quality of life.
Nordic collaboration can help compare treatment strategies, evaluate outcomes, and support clinical studies in this challenging patient group.
Small-cell lung cancer is an aggressive form of lung cancer where new treatment strategies are urgently needed. NTOG-related research includes academic clinical trials, radiotherapy studies, immunotherapy combinations, limited-stage and extensive-stage disease, and real-world outcome studies.
Collaborative Nordic research can make it easier to conduct meaningful studies in small-cell lung cancer and to evaluate new treatment approaches across countries.
Translational lung cancer research connects laboratory science with clinical care. It may include tumour biology, molecular diagnostics, biomarkers, imaging, circulating tumour DNA, immune response, tissue studies, and clinical outcomes.
The aim of translational research is to improve how lung cancer is diagnosed, classified, treated, and monitored, and to bring scientific discoveries closer to patient care.
Biomarkers are biological features that can help guide diagnosis, prognosis, treatment selection, and monitoring of lung cancer. In modern lung cancer care, biomarkers are essential for targeted therapy, immunotherapy decisions, resistance monitoring, and clinical trial development.
Nordic collaboration in biomarker research can support larger datasets, shared expertise, and improved understanding of how molecular testing can be implemented in routine care.
NTOG research benefits patients by supporting earlier diagnosis, better treatment strategies, more consistent care pathways, improved use of registry data, stronger clinical trials, and better collaboration between Nordic experts.
The long-term goal is to improve outcomes and quality of care for patients with lung cancer and other thoracic cancers across the Nordic countries.
Researchers interested in Nordic lung cancer or thoracic oncology collaboration can connect with NTOG through national lung cancer groups, NTOG meetings, research networks, and symposium activities. NTOG welcomes collaboration on clinical trials, registry-based research, translational studies, screening projects, guideline development, and quality improvement initiatives.
Proposed research collaborations should have clear clinical or scientific relevance and ideally include opportunities for cross-country Nordic participation.