Feasibility of WB MRI - based cancer surveillance programme in A-T
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Feasibility of whole-body MRI for cancer surveillance in children and young people with Ataxia Telangiectasia
IRAS ID
301817
Contact name
Robert Dineen
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
NA, NA
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 10 months, 31 days
Research summary
Summary of Research:
Children and young people with the inherited disease Ataxia Telangiectasia (or A-T, for short) have a greatly increased risk of cancer compared to those without A-T. At present there are no guidelines on how children and young people with A-T should be screened for cancer. Scans that use x-rays, like CT scans, can be particularly harmful in people with A-T. MRI scans, however, do not use x-rays and provide a way to scan the whole body to look for cancers.
We think that whole-body MRI scans and a blood test (which can detect some cancers) is a good way to screen for cancer in children and young people with A-T, but before we carry out a detailed trial to prove this, we first need to check that children and young people with A-T can tolerate the scan and that the images are clear enough to allow us to look for cancers.
We also want to find out what people with A-T and their families/carers think about the cancer screening tests. For example, we want to know and to understand their opinions and their experience throughout the process of having an MRI scan for cancer screening and the implications associated with it on their lives.Summary of Results:
We recruited 18 children and young people with Ataxia Telangiectasia, of which 16 underwent a Whole-body MRI scan. Nineteen parents participated in post-participation interviews.
Fifteen children and young people with Ataxia Telangiectasia (83%) completed the full WB-MRI scan protocol. We obtained diagnostic images in at least 93% of each MRI sequence, achieving the pre-specified image quality target. Non-malignant scan findings were present in four (25%) children and young people with Ataxia Telangiectasia.
The assessment of the interviews revealed that: (1) anxiety is a familiar feeling, (2) the process of MRI scanning is challenging for some children and families, (3) preparation is essential to reduce stress, (4) WB-MRI provides the reassurance about the physical health that families need, (5) WB-MRI experience turned out to be a positive experience and (6) WB-MRI allows families to be proactive.
In conclusion, this study shows that Whole-Body MRI for cancer screening is feasible and well-accepted by children and young people with Ataxia Telangiectasia and their families.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/YH/0053
Date of REC Opinion
19 Apr 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion