An in vivo analysis of ocular surface lesions
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An in vivo analysis of ocular surface lesions: Correlation of optical coherence tomography, in vivo confocal microscopy and angiography with histological diagnosis. Subtitle: Ocular surface lesions imaging
IRAS ID
189364
Contact name
Heinrich Heimann
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research Governance Manager, R&D department
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 3 months, 16 days
Research summary
A variety of neoplastic (tumour or cancer like) lesions may develop within tissues from the ocular surface. Some are benign and others malignant.
The diagnosis of ocular surface lesions with usual current clinical examination techniques is challenging. Management of ocular surface neoplasia is particularly challenging, especially in cases with widespread or diffuse disease or tumour recurrences. It is often impossible to reliably exclude dysplastic or malignant disease in suspicious cases from clinical appearance only. Therefore, current diagnosis depends on biopsy and histological analysis. With advances in innovative ocular surface imaging, however, new techniques have become available, enabling the in-vivo characterization (such as size, thickness, degree of pigmentation or inflammation) of ocular surface tissue at a microscopic or near-microscopic level. The combined use of optical coherence tomography (OCT), in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) and angiography with fluoresceine/indocyanine green (FA/ICGA) may improve the diagnosis and grading of ocular surface lesions, thus improving clinical management and patient care. Also, clinical aids to diagnosis such as these may reduce the need for repeated diagnostic biopsies.
This study addresses the question wether OCT, IVCM and FA/ICGA can be used to diagnose and classify ocular surface lesions and how these in vivo imaging modalities correlate with the in vitro histopathological assessment of suspected ocular surface neoplastic lesions.
The proposal is to use the described in vivo imaging methods on ocular surface lesions of patients referred for specialist assessment in the Liverpool Ocular Oncology Centre (LOOC) at St Paul’s Eye Unit, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, UK, and the Department of Ophthalmology of Innsbruck Medical University, Austria, between November 2015 and December 2017.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NW/0980
Date of REC Opinion
5 Feb 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion