Do you have questions or are you looking for more information?
Below you will find answers to frequently asked questions. Is your question not there? Feel free to contact us.
Yes, all participants will be informed within three weeks by regular service mail.
Your specified (general) physician will also be notified.
You will be notified by mail within three weeks of your participation in the ZORALCS-study.
The CT scan takes a detailed picture of the lungs and uses a low dose of X-rays, comparable to the amount of radiation released during a transatlantic flight.
After the scan, the result is sent both to you and to your specified treating (general) physician, who will also help you if you have any questions about the result.
If the result is favourable (‘negative’), you will be invited for a second low-dose CT scan after one year.
In case of a doubtful result -as has been seen for example after pneumonia- you will be invited for an interim scan after three or six months to further monitor the abnormality.
In case of an unfavourable (‘positive’) result, there is a strong suspicion of early lung cancer and you will be asked through your treating (family) physician to undergo further investigations to make the diagnosis. Here, you have a free choice of where and by whom you are treated.
The CT examination takes place at the University Hospital Antwerp (UZA) – Drie Eikenstraat 655, 2650 Edegem
The local councils from the primary care zone ZORA support the ZORALCS-study within the framework of scientific research and public interest. By mutual agreement, they provide the address details of all 55-74 year-olds from the primary care zone ZORA.
If you don’t want to participate, you don’t have to do anything.
If you are not eligible, we expect your risk of developing lung cancer to be lower and participating in the study may have more harms than benefits. This does not mean that you cannot develop lung cancer. In case of symptoms (change in coughing pattern, coughing up blood, chest pain…), consult your GP.
To participate in the ZORALCS study go to the Participate page. Click on the green button ‘I am considering participating’. A screen will then open where you can choose between logging in via the Itsme® identification platform or via the ID card reader.
After logging in you will automatically be taken to the online questionnaire of the ZORALCS-study.
Need help logging in? There are also screenshots on the website under the ‘participate’ tab on how to log in with Itsme®.
Furthermore, the ‘digipunten’ in your municipality and allhealthcare providers from the primary care zoneare ready to support you
The research data used (such as online questionnaire responses, results….) are only used for the ZORALCS-study. There is a privacy statement and disclaimer on the website.
Your personal data will be used only for the purpose of this study.
The personal data transferred will not include any combination of elements that would make it possible to identify you. The physician-researcher is obliged to keep this data confidential. Your name will never be disclosed.
To guarantee your privacy with regard to the storage and processing of data within the framework of this study, your data will be pseudonymised. This means that your name, first name, date of birth and place of residence will be replaced by a code. All further processing is done on this pseudonymised data. However, the link between the code and the person is preserved. This link is only used to be able to link certain information back to you in your own interest.
Some researchers can see your name and address. This is necessary to invite you again or to send you the results.
For now, there is only scientific evidence that early detection of lung cancer is sufficiently effective in people who smoke or have smoked and thereby have an increased risk of developing long-term lung cancer. Future research will reveal this further
4-in-the-lung run:
is to examine a large group of people for the presence of a disease. Importantly, it is a study where a relatively small group may have large benefits, while a relatively large group may have smaller drawbacks. Important potential benefits are fewer deaths from lung cancer and more treatments that are relatively less invasive. On the other hand, screening involves exposure to a small amount of X-rays. Also, participation can cause anxiety/uncertainty during the scanning and waiting for the results. It is also possible that an abnormality may be seen, but that after additional testing it does not turn out to be lung cancer (false positive). It is very important that the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages: the so-called utility-risk ratio. This is also defined in the Population Screening Act.
In this regard, it is important to know well who is at (greatly) increased risk for the disease. Smoking behavior is an important part of determining lung cancer risk. About 80-90% of lung cancers are related to smoking history. Importantly, at least half of those at high risk have already quit smoking. However, the risk remains high for a long time. Factors such as secondhand smoke and air pollution/exposure to chemicals increase the risk of lung cancer, but we are not currently well positioned to determine when a person is at such a high risk of lung cancer based on these factors that screening may be useful. These factors do get included in analyses, and once such factors can be included, they will certainly be. Until then, it is important to be alert for symptoms that may indicate lung cancer if there is long-term second-hand smoke or exposure to polluted air, for example.
There are no additional risks associated with the low-dose X-rays you are exposed to during the scan. Early detection with low-dose CT may lead to finding false-positive results, overdiagnosis and other coincidental findings. These concepts have been explained on the web platform, as well as what measures we take to prevent and mitigate them. The explanations on the web platform are therefore an integral part of this information brochure. UZA, as the client, has taken out no-fault insurance to cover any damages that might arise from this study.
The insights and information provided by this study will contribute to better knowledge and guidance on early detection of lung cancer. This study will therefore improve care for future patients.
Should you be diagnosed with lung cancer through this study, it is at an early stage and can usually be treated curatively. Information about treatment options can be obtained from your doctor or general practitioner.
The aim of the ZORALCS-study is to detect lung cancer early
With the early detection of ‘spots on the lung’ that may indicate incipient lung cancer, we are giving people who smoke or have smoked for a long time and are between 55 and 74 years old the opportunity to have a free low-dose CT scan of the lungs as well as receive smoking cessation support for those who still smoke. The low-dose CT scan makes it possible to detect a lung cancer at an early stage, greatly increasing the chances of cure.
Who can participate? All men/women/…
- Domiciled in the first-line zone South-East Rand Antwerp (Boechout-Vremde, Edegem, Hove, Kontich, Lint and Mortsel)
- Between 55-74 years old (born between 1951-1970)
- With a high enough risk of developing lung cancer in the next few years. This risk depends on factors such as smoking behaviour
No, the study is completely free of charge. There are no charges for either you or your health insurance.
Please note that if follow-up studies are needed, the costs will not be borne by the ZORALCS-study.
You can consider participating until December 2025.
If you are already under treatment for lung cancer, you can no longer participate in the ZORALCS-study. Early detection of lung cancer is done in people who have no symptoms/lung cancer but are at increased risk of developing lung cancer
Having (lung) cancer in the last five years is an exclusion criterion for the study (except skin cancer).
