FORTITUDE
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Feasibility of serial multisite image-guided biopsy to study breast cancer evolution
IRAS ID
314060
Contact name
Stephen-John Sammut
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
15 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
FORTITUDE is a translational research study that aims to collect serial multi-site needle biopsy samples of tumour tissue and blood from metastatic breast cancer patients. Cancer biopsies are generally performed in the NHS when cancer is diagnosed and are sometimes repeated when the cancer is suspected to have spread but this is not mandatory. However, studies have shown that cancers do change with time and evolve to become resistant to therapy. The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of biopsies of multiple cancer sites across different time points during treatment. The findings of this study could pave the way for using cancer biopsies more frequently in the clinic to pick up changes in cancer behaviour that could influence treatment choice. The samples collected from this study will be used for molecular and genetic research to increase our understanding of how metastatic breast cancer changes during treatment and will enable us to develop new cancer treatments and new ways of monitoring response to cancer therapies.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/NW/0155
Date of REC Opinion
3 Jul 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion