FABP7 in Triple Negative Breast Cancer v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An Investigation to Determine if the Subcellular Localisation of Fatty Acid Binding Protein 7 Expression in Triple Negative Breast Cancer is Related to Currently used Prognostic Indicators
IRAS ID
222103
Contact name
Catherine Yeandle
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Northern Devon Healthcare Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 26 days
Research summary
Title: An Investigation to Determine if the Subcellular Localisation of Fatty Acid Binding Protein 7 (FABP7) Expression in Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is Related to Currently used Prognostic Indicators
Recent research has suggested that the location of FABP7 expression, either nuclear or cytoplasmic, in the tumour cells of breast cancer may be related to patient prognosis. FABP7 over-expression has been associated with TNBC, which tends to be more aggressive, have poorer survival rates and lacks expression of oestrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, which are receptors that can be used as treatment targets. Without them TNBC is unsuitable for treatment with currently available targeted therapies. If FABP7 is found to have prognostic relevance in TNBC, it could improve understanding of the disease and may lead to the development of targeted therapies.
Anonymised TNBC cases will be used from North Devon District Hospital Histopathology Laboratory archive, where suitable tumour material will be tested for FABP7 expression and localisation using immunohistochemistry. Immunohistochemistry uses antibodies to bind to the target, in this case FABP7, to identify its presence in tissue. The antibody binding is amplified using large molecules which include a chromogen that will change colour, allowing it to be viewed under a microscope. The results will be statistically compared to a selection of prognostic indicators, including age at diagnosis, tumour grade, tumour size, nodal involvement and presence of vascular invasion. No tissue will be taken for the purposes of this project, only archived, reported cases used. While this project will not benefit the patients whose tissue is used, improvement in understanding of the involvement of FABP7 and its potential use as a prognostic indicator or therapy target may lead to further research that would benefit future patients. The project will be completed by January 26th 2018.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/EM/0127
Date of REC Opinion
5 Apr 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion