Peter Calverley, a Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom, presents CanCOLD as a “fine addition to the long and honorable history of Canadian research into the pathophysiology of COPD.” In his editorial for the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Prof Calverly specifically highlights the study’s role in helping to answer key research questions related to COPD. Thanks to CanCOLD, Canadian investigators are addressing novel questions regarding the pathophysiology of COPD. The author showcases how CanCOLD has spearheaded key advancements in the field of COPD research. CanCOLD’s significance resonates as
he underlines the critical data the study has previously unraveled regarding the early loss of small airways in COPD progression and the role of elevated blood eosinophil counts in accelerating disease progression, among other valuable insights.

Peter Calverley also highlights the breadth of CanCOLD’s exercise dataset which “takes our understanding of exercise limitation in COPD to a new level”. As he dissects CanCOLD’s latest publication by Phillips et al. (2022), that examines why individuals with mild COPD have greater breathlessness, Calverley outlines how the CanCOLD study “broadens our understanding of impaired exercise performance, suggests new approaches to its understanding, and will no doubt be succeeded by more exciting data.” The editorial underlines the lasting impact of CanCOLD’s findings in Canadian and international research. Read the full editorial here.