HCC audit data for biomarker identification
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A retrospective analysis of audit data to explore the predictive and prognostic biomarker potential of muscle mass in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
IRAS ID
242977
Contact name
Helen Reeves
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Patients with primary liver cancer (or hepatocellular carcinoma/HCC) usually present late and die within a year. Treatments options are limited and can sometimes do more harm than good. In 2000 the Department of Health introduced the 'NHS Cancer Plan', aiming to address regional variations in quality of care and improve outcomes for patients with cancer. This included a requirement for referral and discussion of every patient, including radiology, at a specialist multidisciplinary meeting (MDM). As part of a Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust audit project, Professor Reeves created a registry of all the patients with HCC referred to the trust between 2000 and 2010 (632 patients) and evaluated compliance with recommended practices/guidelines as well as the effectiveness of the MDM in informing decision making processes and the subsequent impact on patient care and outcome. The results of the audit were published [Dyson et al. Hepatocellular cancer: the impact of obesity, type 2 diabetes and a multidisciplinary team J Hepatol. 2014 Jan;60(1):110-7. doi:10.1016/j.jhep.2013.08.011] and highlighted for the first time the impact of obesity and diabetes on HCC risk, inadequacies in our abilities to detect the disease at a stage early enough to treat it, as well as the huge impact the creation of the MDM had made on referral practice, although not outcome. The extremely well defined cohort of consecutive patients and their data has subsequently become a potentially valuable resource to address specific questions that may help to improve the care of future patients. In particular, we would like to assess whether or not a measurement of muscle mass obtained from CT images at the time of diagnosis, could be used as an objective measure of patients fitness, response to treatment, and survival. If so, routine assessment on diagnostic imaging may help clinicians choose the right treatment, reducing risk.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/1429
Date of REC Opinion
21 Aug 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion