AFI-targeted confocal endomicroscopy in Barrett's oesophagus
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Cross-over randomised study to evaluate the combination of autofluorescence imaging and confocal laser endomicroscopy to diagnose dysplasia in Barrett’s oesophagus
IRAS ID
171628
Contact name
Massimiliano di Pietro
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The UK has seen a dramatic rise in the incidence of cancer of the oesophagus (gullet) over the last three decades. One type of oesophageal cancer called adenocarcinoma occurs in people who suffer from acid reflux and are affected from a condition called Barrett’s oesophagus (BO). For this reason patients with BO are regularly seen in the hospital for an endoscopy (camera test) to detect early cellular changes (dysplasia) and diagnose cancer at a stage where it can be cured with the endoscope and without a surgical operation. Unfortunately, in a significant proportion of cases dysplasia is invisible to the standard endoscopy and therefore difficult to diagnose with conventional techniques. We intend to conduct a research project to test a combination of enhanced endoscopic equipment in combination to molecular tests on tissue samples to allow enhanced diagnosis of dysplasia and early cancer. The enhanced endoscopic equipment will consist of two imaging techniques. One is called autofluorescence imaging (AFI), which can “flag” in red suspicious areas in the gullet; the other, called confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE), allows a microscopic analysis of the gullet lining to be performed through the endoscope in real-time. We will combine these with simple molecular tests performed on a small number of biopsies. We believe that this novel approach will improve the diagnosis of early oesophageal adenocarcinoma and inform the correct timing of endoscopic therapy of Barrett's oesophagus
REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EE/0554
Date of REC Opinion
28 Dec 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion