ExPeL

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Harnessing exhaled hydrogen peroxide for early lung cancer detection

• IRAS ID

  336691

• Contact name

  Sean Knight

• Contact email

  sean.knight@nca.nhs.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust

• ISRCTN Number

  ISRCTN81020233

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 11 months, 24 days

• Research summary

  Lung cancer is the largest cause of cancer-related death in the world because it is mostly diagnosed at late stages when no curative treatments are available. In contrast, when diagnosis is made at early stages, curative treatment can be offered. Two landmark trials have demonstrated that screening for lung cancer in high-risk people by CT saves lives through early diagnosis. In the UK, the National Screening Committee has recommended lung cancer screening by CT in the UK. However, screening by CT is costly and therefore can only be offered to the highest risk patients. Risk is currently assessed by the PLCO and LLP scores, which in Manchester appear to underestimate the risk of lung cancer. Hence we think a biomarker for lung cancer has two benfits:
  1. Reduce the number of CT scans per lung cancer diagnosis in people attended lung cancer screening through providing a pre-CT ‘rule out’ test
  2. Increase delivery of screening to people at risk of lung cancer but below the PLCO/LLP cut-offs for CT based screening

  Exhalation technology have a device (inflammacheck) that detects hydrogen peroxide in exhaled breath, which has previously been suggested to be raised in the breath of people who have lung cancer. This project is a pilot study that will test whether the inflammacheck device can distinguish lung cancer cases from controls. Briefly, we will recruit 20 people with lung cancer and 20 non-cancer controls who will breathe into the inflammacheck device where hydrogen peroxide will be measured. A secondary analysis will include an unbiased screen of other exhaled compounds to determine if any other biomarkers emerge that are associated with lung cancer and can increase the performance of inflammacheck.

• REC name

  West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  24/WM/0028

• Date of REC Opinion

  12 Feb 2024

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion