Does methylation of DNA mark intraepithelial neoplasia for Cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Methylation analysis in interval anal carcinomas and preceding high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia
IRAS ID
226196
Contact name
Mayura Nathan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 31 days
Research summary
The primary objective of the study is to identify specific DNA methylation sites in the host, that relates to the development of anal cancer. We will be testing biopsy samples obtained during and as part of clinical care in those who developed anal cancer from precancer. Cases will be identified from cancer register kept by the Homerton Anal Neoplasia Service. Patients who have biopsies of their cancer and one or more biopsies of precancer obtained at a visit prior to cancer diagnosis will be identified. We will contribute paired samples of biopsies up to a maximum of 8 patients. We will match precancer samples and cancer samples from the same sites to enable the detection of the changes that occurred when cancer developed. The aim of the study is to identify the specific methylation sites that predict the transformation to cancer. We will send paraffin blocks of the samples stored at our local laboratory (Bart's Health) to our collaborator's laboratory at the Vu University Medical Center Amsterdam, Department of molecular pathology, Netherlands, where the testing will be carried out. We will be collecting about 15 such pairs from various services across Europe. All samples will be anonymised and will have the patient identifiers removed. We will however use patient characteristics such as age, sex, immune status including their HIV status and medications or illnesses that impact on immune function of the body for data analysis. We will not be contacting patients as this is an anonymised retrospective tissue-based study. We will complete the sample analysis within 12 months and publish our findings within 6 months in a peer-reviewed journal.
REC name
London - South East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/1084
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jul 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion