Identifying DNA profiles of sputum in patients with stage I NSCLC
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Full title: Identifying genetic profiles in sputum samples of patients with stage I NSCLC using next generation sequencing and determining their feasibility as a screening tool Key words: lung cancer molecular analysis oncogenes
IRAS ID
203201
Contact name
Henry Wood
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Thoracic Surgery Charitable Fund
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Surgery offers the best chance of cure in early stage disease. The five year survival in patients, who undergo radical surgery for stage I lung cancer exceeds 80%. This is in stark contrast to the overall survival rates of approximately 16%. However, approximately only 20% of all patients, who get diagnosed with lung cancer are deemed suitable for surgery due to their locally advanced or disseminated disease. This is despite having a well-known and avoidable risk factor (smoking). So far, no early screening protocols have been routinely implemented, despite the fact that a couple of large, randomized studies have suggested a potentially beneficial role for CT scans. Bearing in mind the complex genetic nature of lung cancer, the need to develop a novel and non-invasive screening tool, which would help pin point high risk cases is perhaps greater than ever. Such a tool would be able to augment the role of CT scanning, making the screening process more cost effective. It would help identify more patients with early disease, thus giving them a significantly better chance of cure. It has been shown that most lung cancers have one or more of a small number of common genetic abnormalities, which we will test for. These could serve as potential biomarkers that could be used for early diagnosis and screening. The aim of the project is to investigate sputum samples from patients undergoing elective surgery for non-small cell lung cancer. We will attempt to identify a genetic profile consistent with lung cancer within those samples, based on DNA abnormalities identified with next generation sequencing. We will then try to determine its feasibility as an early screening tool by validating the presence of abnormalities in the primary tumour samples and peripheral blood samples.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/YH/0386
Date of REC Opinion
2 Sep 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion