Molecular Diagnosis of Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonias: a Prospective Study

Molecular diagnosis of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias is an innovative way to potentially improve the diagnostic accuracy of surgical lung biopsies (SLBs), introducing molecular classifiers of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) vs. non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) vs. chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (CHP). The investigators hypothesize that pre-defined gene expression profiles previously identified on large lung explants can still be identified and reproducible on smaller, clinically available surgical lung biopsies (SLBs), and can be used to increase diagnostic accuracy during multi-disciplinary discussion. The investigators also hypothesize that the expression level of individual, preselected genes that accurately differentiate IPF from NSIP and CHP on lung explants can be reproduced on SLBs. The investigators will isolate RNA from SLBs obtained from patients with IIP and perform microarray analysis to verify the reproducibility of gene expression profiles on SLBs. Individual genes expression levels will be determined by RT-PCR. The diagnosis will be determined by MDD and further validated by prospective follow-up of patients for a period of 3 years. The investigators will assess the impact of molecular diagnostic techniques on interobserver agreement during multi-disciplinary discussion. The investigators will prospectively follow the clinical course of patients after SLB for a period of 3 years to validate the diagnosis, and asses the diagnostic accuracy of molecular techniques.