biomarkers of lung cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Identification of biomarkers to monitor disease progression in Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
IRAS ID
219879
Contact name
Suzanne D Turner
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Unviersity of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) was first identified in patients with Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system that affects mostly children and young adults. Since this time, aberrant expression of ALK has been associated with a number of other malignancies including neuroblastoma and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). In the latter cases, ALK is expressed as the result of a chromosomal inversion event whereby genetic material is essentially reorganised, in this case resulting in the generation of a new gene called EML4-ALK which drives cancer development in the lung. Children with ALK-expressing ALCL produce antibodies to this cancer gene which can be detected in their blood; high antibody levels indicate a good prognosis for these children, particularly when there is also an absence of circulating ALK-positive DNA in the patient's blood. We want to investigate whether these cancer biomarkers in blood are also of relevance to NSCLC patients who have ALK-positive disease. To conduct this study we require a small sample of blood to be taken from NSCLC patients before treatment and at different stages throughout treatment in order to investigate for the presence of ALK antibodies and circulating tumour DNA. These parameters will then be compared to each patient's clinical outcome to determine if they are good predictive biomarkers of disease progression and whether they can be used as diagnostic tests for early detection of cancer.
REC name
London - Hampstead Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0751
Date of REC Opinion
12 Jun 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion