Nau mai, haere mai, welcome to Te Oranga Pūkahukahu, the Lung Cancer Screening study being done by the Māori Health Pipeline - Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora and Otago University.
Currently, in New Zealand, most lung cancers are found quite late. Screening can help find lung cancer when it is small, has not spread anywhere else and is not causing any symptoms.
When found early, lung cancer is much more likely to be able to be cured. International evidence has shown that screening can decrease deaths from lung cancer among people who are at high risk of developing it.
We want to design a lung cancer screening programme that works for Māori in Aotearoa. To do this, we are doing research to help inform this design.
In March 2024 the team completed a study of around 500 participants in the Waitematā and Te Toka Tumai (Auckland) districts in Auckland. The next study will be with 1,200 participants, across the whole northern region, taking in the Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) and Counties Manukau regions as well as Waitematā and Te Toka Tumai (Auckland).
Lung cancer screening uses a low dose CT scan which can detect lung cancer before symptoms develop. We only need to scan people who are at higher risk for lung cancer, so first we will ask participants some questions about their health to assess their risk.
This video will tell you a bit more about what to expect when considering lung screening.It will talk you through what it is like to get a CT scan, and some of the risks and benefits that are important to know.
The people who are invited to join this study will:
be Māori or European
be smokers, or ex-smokers
be aged between 50 and 74
live in the northern region, which includes the Health New Zealand catchment areas of Te Tai Tokerau – Northland, Waitematā, Te Toka Tumai Auckland or Counties Manukau districts.
You cannot be in the study if any of these things apply to you:
you have never smoked
you have had lung cancer before
you have had a chest CT scan in the last two years
you have some other cancers or conditions that don’t allow you to participate – our study nurse can talk to you about these.
We use risk assessment questions to find out if participants are eligible for a lung screening CT scan. These questions were developed through international research. Our study will help test how well the risk assessment questions work here in Aotearoa New Zealand, with Māori and European populations. The study is also looking at ways Māori health providers and whānau activation methods can help increase the uptake of lung screening.
Participants will receive an invitation to participate from their own GP, a Māori Health Provider known to them, or by receiving a whānau invitation voucher from a whānau member or friend.
Part 1 – assessment
The first part of the study is an assessment to find out if invited participants are eligible for a lung screening CT scan. The assessment involves answering some questions about personal and family health history and smoking history. This can be done online or with a nurse over the phone, by video call or in person.
If your assessment shows you are not at high risk of getting lung cancer, then you will not need a CT scan. Your participation in the study will end here. You might be offered an assessment again in the future, as your risk can change over time.
If your assessment shows you are at higher risk of lung cancer, you will be invited to have a CT scan, which is a type of X-ray. This does not mean you have lung cancer.
Part 2 – CT scan
A nurse will talk with you about the pros and cons of having a CT scan and what is involved. They will also talk about what happens if the scan finds something. This will help you decide whether or not to have a CT scan.
We welcome whānau or other support people to be involved in your lung cancer screening journey if you choose to take part. Support people are welcome to ask questions and attend any appointments with you.
If you decide to have a CT scan, an appointment will be made for a time that suits you.
Once you have had your CT scan, the pictures are sent to a radiologist who will search for ‘spots’ on your lungs (called nodules). They may also find other health issues. The radiologist will send a report to the doctors in our study.
Your GP or a nurse from your usual clinic will talk about your results either over the phone or in person.
If nodules are found, the doctors will talk through what this means and what should happen next.
Some people with nodules will have another CT scan to see if the nodule has changed. Some people will be offered other tests to see if the nodule is cancer or something else.
If anything else is found on the CT scan, we will talk to you about what this means and whether anything needs to be done.
For any questions, please contact:
Professor Sue Crengle
(Waitaha, Kāti Mamoe, Kāi Tahu)
Principal Investigator for the Lung Screening Research Programme, University of Otago
Dr Karen Bartholomew
Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Lead for this study
Karen.Bartholomew@waitematadhb.govt.nz
Dr Kate Parker
Co-investigator & Programme Manager
Ph: 021 678 907
Kate.Parker2@waitematadhb.govt.nz
Research team
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Grace Steel |
Study Nurse |
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Anne Fraser |
Study Nurse Practitioner |
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Umit Holland |
Senior Research Nurse |
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Maryam Griffin |
Senior Research Nurse |
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Donna Enoka |
Engagement Co-ordinator |
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Tayla Schaapveld |
Data Research Assistant |
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Kim MacRae |
Project Manager |
Invitation methods for Indigenous New Zealand Māori in lung cancer screening: Protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial. Parker K, Colhoun S, Bartholomew K, Sandiford P, Lewis C, Milne D, et al. PLoS ONE 18(8): e0281420. August 2023 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0281420
