Incidence and Histopathological Characteristics of Fungal Infections
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Prospective Evaluation of Fungal Co-Infections in Upper Aerodigestive Tract Biopsies from Patients Investigated for Malignancy
IRAS ID
361470
Contact name
Mohamed Abdalla
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Calderdale Huddersfield NHS Foundation
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
25/PR/1781, REC
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
The nexus between chronic fungal presence in the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) and the aetiology or prognosis of malignancy remains a significant academic and clinical blind spot. Patients presenting with unexplained UADT symptomatology frequently undergo extensive diagnostic work-ups for suspected cancer, yet fungal co-infections are often missed, leading to diagnostic ambiguities and suboptimal patient care. This study addresses a critical clinical and academic void by systematically quantifying the incidence of fungal pathogens in a precisely defined patient cohort (those investigated for UADT malignancy during a fixed 6-month period), utilising the cost-effective and universally available Periodic Acid-Schiff (PAS) stain as the sole diagnostic methodology.
The data generated from this single-centre study can serve as a crucial feasibility assessment and robust baseline for future studies in this field. This allows for rapid validation of our findings across diverse populations. The immediate next step would be to translate this pilot into a multi-centre prospective cohort study.REC name
North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/NW/0024
Date of REC Opinion
12 Feb 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion