Scientists at the University of Calgary say they are looking for toenail clippings for a study looking into radon gas exposure and potential lung cancer risk.
They say measuring levels of certain radioactive isotopes in toenail clippings may reveal a person’s long-term exposure to radon gas — which is an odourless, colourless, tasteless gas that occurs naturally in the environment.
“We’ve learned that our toenails hold long-term information about our exposure to radioactive toxicants in our environment, such as radon gas. They are one of our body’s archives of past exposure,” said Aaron Goodarzi, lead investigator and professor at the university.
Goodarzi said he is hoping to recruit up to 10,000 people from all over Canada to test their homes for radon and collect and send in their toenail clippings to be analyzed for a national study aimed at expanding criteria for lung cancer screening.
Radon poses a significant health risk when it accumulates in high levels and is in enclosed spaces such as homes, and can contribute to lung cancer. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer after tobacco smoking, the university said.
Get weekly health news
Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.
“After you inhale radon, it quite quickly transforms into a specific type of radioactive lead,” Goodarzi said. “Your body treats radioactive lead from radon like it does all lead and stores it in slow-shedding tissues such as the skin, hair and nails.”
Goodarzi and co-principal investigator Michael Wieser had their proof-of-concept pilot study published in Environment International, which showed that measuring radioactive lead in toenails “is a promising way to estimate a person’s long-term radon exposure.”
“If this validation trial works, it could transform the future landscape of cancer prevention in Canada. The data will form the evidence that could lead to the inclusion of more patients, whose lung cancer is not caused by tobacco smoke, in potentially life-saving early screening and diagnosis,” Goodarzi said.
The university said that according to the pilot study, the researchers found that two in five people who develop lung cancer in Canada do not meet current screening inclusion criteria, “with half of those never having smoked tobacco at all, and another half smoking too little or too long ago for tobacco alone to be considered causative.”
Emi Bossio said that at 47 years old, she started developing symptoms and was diagnosed with lung cancer despite never having smoked tobacco.
“I never smoked, never. I ate nutritiously and stayed fit. I thought to myself, I can’t have lung cancer,” she said. “It was super shocking. A cataclysmic moment. There are no words to describe it.
“People need to understand anyone with lungs can get lung cancer.”
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
