ADC-ICE Study Version1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Can apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) from diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) be used to automatically define tumour contours for interstitial cervix brachytherapy (BT) planning?
IRAS ID
203924
Contact name
Stephen Locks
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 8 days
Research summary
One treatment that is often used for the treatment of cervical cancer is brachytherapy. Brachytherapy uses small radiation sources that are placed close to the tumour to give the nearby tumour cells a radiation dose and damage them beyond repair.
Some shaped plastic tubes (the applicator) are placed up through the vagina and cervix. The radiation source is then moved through the tubes to give a radiation dose to the tumour. For larger tumours, a better result is achieved if a number of plastic needles are inserted through one of the tubes and into the tumour. The radiation source is then also moved through the needles to better treat the whole tumour. Currently, the placement of these needles is decided after visually inspecting the size of the tumour on a type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan called a T2-weighted scan. We know that different observers can get different results when doing this.
This study aims to find out if it is possible to use a different type of MRI scan (called a diffusion-weighted imaging, DWI, scan) and a computer program to automatically decide where to put the needles. This may give the clinician more confidence, save time and optimise the number of needles inserted.The study will take scans of volunteer patients with cervical cancer and use them to build and test the computer program.
Patients taking part in the study will have cervical cancer and will have had their clinician highlight them as potentially benefitting from the use of needles. Participants would receive a DWI scan at the end of each of their normal MRI scanning time which they will undergo as part of their normal brachytherapy treatment. The scans won’t be used for clinical decision making during the study.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0392
Date of REC Opinion
25 Aug 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion