The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Lung Tissue Research Consortium (LTRC) was originally established with the primary purpose of collecting lung tissue and blood samples and a secondary purpose of collecting clinical data, limited exposure data, physiologic studies, and radiographic studies from participants with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), other related idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIP) and interstitial pneumonias associated with connective tissue diseases who undergo medically-indicated lung resection. LTRC III?s primary focus will shift to the collection of lung tissue and clinical data from control participants who require lung resection. These control participants will primarily come from individuals with suspected interstitial lung disease (ILD) who are shown after pathological examination not to have this disease. Control participants may also come from individuals with suspected lung cancer but with normal lung function. For either category, non-neoplastic tissue will be collected remotely from a nodule or mass. All tissue and blood specimens and clinical data will be banked and stored for distribution to future investigators who have approved study proposals and are investigating the pathogenesis of the aforementioned lung diseases. It is the ultimate goal of this study that information derived from the LTRC will lead to novel interventional treatments for all disease categories under study.
