Lung Screening Incidental Findings Follow-Up Tracker
Significant incidental findings on lung screening CT are associated with a substantially increased risk of extrapulmonary cancer diagnosis in the following year — meaning lung screening programs are detecting signals for multiple cancer types, but follow-up infrastructure for incidental findings is…
Lung Screening Incidental Findings Follow-Up Tracker
Significant incidental findings on lung screening CT are associated with a substantially increased risk of extrapulmonary cancer diagnosis in the following year — meaning lung screening programs are detecting signals for multiple cancer types, but follow-up infrastructure for incidental findings is inconsistent.
Build a clinical workflow tool that helps radiology departments and lung screening programs systematically track and follow up on significant incidental findings from low-dose CT lung cancer screening. The tool would accept structured incidental finding reports (lymphadenopathy, adrenal nodules, hepatic lesions, vascular findings, thyroid abnormalities), categorize them by significance tier, generate follow-up recommendations aligned with specialty guidelines (ACR guidelines for each organ system), and set reminder triggers at appropriate intervals.
A patient-facing component would provide accessible explanations of what was found and what follow-up means, reducing anxiety from unexplained findings while ensuring patients understand the importance of follow-up. The system would generate summary letters for referring physicians and flag overdue follow-ups.
Lung cancer screening programs now cover millions of current and former smokers in the US and growing numbers internationally. This population is at elevated risk for many cancers due to shared carcinogen exposure (smoking, occupational exposures). Incidental findings in this population are not noise — they are signals for multi-cancer risk. Health systems that treat these findings as administrative burden rather than diagnostic opportunity are missing cancer diagnoses. A systematic tracking tool would transform incidental findings from paperwork into clinical value.
Who Is This For?
Radiology departments and lung cancer screening program coordinators, pulmonologists and primary care physicians managing screening patients, and health systems seeking to maximize the value of screening programs.
Skills & Tools Needed
- Clinical workflow software development (EHR integration or standalone)
- Knowledge of radiology incidental finding guidelines (ACR Incidentalomas)
- Database design for longitudinal patient follow-up tracking
- HL7/FHIR for EHR data exchange (for clinical deployment)
- Medical writing for patient-facing finding explanations
Feasibility
medium — The tool concept is clear and the guidelines exist; EHR integration is the main technical complexity, though a standalone tool that interfaces with existing systems is a viable first version.
Inspired by: Incidental Findings in Lung Screening Could Indicate Undiagnosed Cancers
