Work

The LUCIA project: understanding determinants to improve lung cancer screening and early detection

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. The LUCIA project (Agreement n° 101096473) is dedicated to advance LC screening and prevention by discovering and understanding risk factors contributing to LC development. We use digital tools and AI to integrate multimodal data from wide-population and precision screening cohorts. Linking disparate data layers, we aim to develop a validated risk engine for more accurate, individualized risk stratification in LC screening programs. Methods LUCIA is a multinational study integrating retrospective Electronic Health Record (EHR) cohorts with a prospective clinical validation study. We included >50,000 individuals from longitudinal EHR datasets for the retrospective study and 3,029 participants in the prospective study enrolled in 3 phases. We use data harmonization to the OMOP Common Data Model, advanced AI modeling using Time-Aware Transformers (STraTS) for clinical time-series and hybrid models for environmental/geospatial data fusion. As intervention, we apply non-invasive sensing devices. Our primary outcomes include model predictive performance (AUROC/AUPRC) for LC risk, diagnostic sensitivity/specificity of sensing technologies, and identification of implementation. Results Preliminary results demonstrate a high predictive and diagnostic performance across the LUCIA toolbox. We have validated a multimodal risk engine integrating clinical and environmental data to achieve high predictive accuracy (AUROC 0.75), outperforming traditional screening models. By demonstrating that non-invasive breath and wearable sensors provide effective triage with 80–87% sensitivity, we support a low-cost primary care screening layer to reduce unnecessary imaging. These technical achievements are backed by the harmonization of 90% of consortium data to OMOP standards. Conclusions LUCIA has transitioned a holistic AI toolbox to the public health domain to enable proactive, precision LC prevention. Key messages • The LUCIA project (2023-2026) works to validate risk factors beyond smoking history in lung cancer development and to enable proactive, precision lung cancer prevention. • The LUCIA project results demonstrate the effectiveness of non-invasive breath and wearable sensors and support a low-cost primary care screening layer to reduce unnecessary imaging.

Source: European Journal of Public Health

DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.608

Authors: M Nabbe, A Garin-Muga, E Arana-Arri, B Polis

Institutions: HOPE European Hospital and Healthcare Federation, Vicomtech, Biogipuzkoa Health Research Institute, Osakidetza, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Subfield: Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,181