Hepatica
Research type
Research Study
Full title
HepaT1ca: Quantifying liver health in surgical candidates for liver malignancies.
IRAS ID
223180
Contact name
Damian James Mole
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Surgery to remove parts of the liver affected by cancer is the treatment of choice for curing cancer in the liver, whether the cancer arises from the liver cells – called hepatocellular carcinoma – or has spread to the liver from another site – most commonly from a colon or rectal cancer. In the UK, 1600 liver operations are performed each year for cancer. Hepatocellular cancer, for which liver surgery can be an effective cure, is the cancer type that is increasing most rapidly in incidence worldwide. Research into preventing complications after liver surgery has identified poor liver health (pre-existing chronic liver disease) as a significant negative factor in the development of post-operative liver failure. We believe that advanced imaging techniques can measure liver health prior to surgery and therefore contribute to a more accurate assessment of surgical risk. LiverMultiScanTM is a non-invasive MRI-based technology developed by Perspectum Diagnostics that makes the accurate and safe assessment of liver health possible; more specifically, LiverMultiScanTM can measure poor liver health due to fat, inflammation, scar tissue or high iron content. By teaming up with Perspectum Diagnostics we can test whether this novel technology can be applied in real life clinical practice.
The aim of “HepaT1ca: Quantifying liver health in surgical candidates for liver malignancies” is to advance the MRI technology behind LiverMultiScanTM into clinical practice. To achieve this, we are refining the technology to meet the needs of surgeons and other members of the multidisciplinary team to assess liver health prior to surgery, monitor the effect of chemotherapy on the liver, and to examine the health of the regenerated liver after surgery. Ultimately, it is hoped that this enabling technology will significantly improve the safety of patients who do undergo liver surgery.
REC name
South East Scotland REC 02
REC reference
17/SS/0049
Date of REC Opinion
21 Apr 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion