Characterising the immune microenvironment of chordoma
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A multi-modal characterisation of the immmune microenvironment in chordoma
IRAS ID
340702
Contact name
Hannah Howlett
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Chordomas are rare bone cancers that develop at the base of the skull and in the spine. Surgery and high dose radiotherapy are the only treatment options but both are associated with side effects that can negatively impact quality of life. At present almost everyone diagnosed with a chordoma undergoes surgery with the intent of removing as much tumour as possible followed by high dose radiotherapy. Tumour recurrence is common and can be harder to treat than the initial diagnosis. Survival is seven years on average but some people succumb to their disease more rapidly whilst others live for much longer.
Most cancers are caused by genetic mutations. Studies of genetic mutations facilitated by genetic sequencing have improved the understanding of other cancers and the ability to treat them. Although the genetic make up of chordomas has been studied, few mutations have been found and these only occur in a small proportion of tumours, limiting their clinical use. Within a tumour, cancer cells exist in a mesh of normal cells, some of which are immune cells. The interaction between cancer cells and normal cells, particularly the immune cells, has been shown to affect how cancers behave. As genetic mutations are relatively rare in chordoma, we propose to study the immune cells in a large number of chordomas to see if we can identify subsets of chordomas that might need to be treated differently. This has not previously been performed on a large scale. Studying the immune cells in other cancers has improved the treatment of other cancers and ultimately we hope to achieve this for chordomas. To achieve this we seek permission to access existing collections of archived tumour tissue held in the Pathology department to provide us with the samples to study.
REC name
North East - Tyne & Wear South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/NE/0193
Date of REC Opinion
18 Oct 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion