inflammatory markers and LN involvement in PNETs
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Role of pre-operative inflammatory markers as predictors of lymph node positivity and disease recurrence in well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours.
IRAS ID
268529
Contact name
Lulu Tanno
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospital Southampton NHS F T
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 30 days
Research summary
Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours are a rare and slightly unusual type of cancer. Sometimes these cancers can be difficult to see on scans patients have before surgery. When we are planning for an operation,it is very important to know if a lymph node near the cancer is normal or if the cancer has spread into it. If the lymph node has cancer or does not look normal then it must be removed during surgery. However, in neuroendocrine tumours we cannot always tell this before surgery. We understand that patients are often worried before surgery, and having lots of unnecessary scans and tests can be scary. We want to find a test that can be used instead that is less stressful. There have been reports that high white blood cells in the blood test before surgery are associated with neuroendocrine tumours that are more aggressive. If we could use blood tests that patients normally have before surgery to see if lymph nodes are normal or not, this would be an ideal test.
In this study, we want to see if high white blood cell count is something that is also linked with cancer spread in the lymph node. Because if we can predict this before surgery, it will ensure that patients will have the correct operation and have all cancer removed.
This study will answer this question, by selecting patients who had surgery and looking at their blood results before surgery, and then looking at the report of the removed cancers and lymph node spread. This will help us see if high white cell counts are linked with cancer spread in the lymph node or not.REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/LO/0219
Date of REC Opinion
5 Apr 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion