Multi compartment comparisons in Haematological malignancies.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A study to compare tumour cells from different compartments of the body in patients with Haematological malignancies in order to identify novel therapeutic targets.
IRAS ID
229618
Contact name
Chris Pepper
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Sussex
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Blood-related cancers including Leukaemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma are diagnosed in 30,000 new patients/year in the UK. One critical problem when treating these diseases is their disseminated nature and location of the malignant cells in multiple compartments of the body. In some of these compartments the malignant clones expand uncontrollably and if untreated normal blood cells are no longer produced. As a result, patients suffer anaemia, infection, bleeding and ultimately death. Although some patients respond the therapy, not all do and the number cured remains low. Most research on these disorders is performed on excess peripheral blood (PB) or bone marrow (BM) taken for diagnostic purposes. However, we have recently published a study demonstrating that the malignant cells in Chronic lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) are phenotypically and functionally different depending on whether they are located in the PB or the Lymph Nodes (LN). The cells in the LN have an activated phenotype and proliferate more. In addition, we demonstrated that it is these aggressive cells that migrate. This finding could apply to other haematological malignancies. As for all cancers, a patient can only be cured of their disease if every malignant cell is destroyed and we hypothesis that some cells migrate and ‘hide’ in protective compartments. Therefore, we are proposing to build up a research group to compare and model the malignant cells from the different compartments, namely the PB, BM and LN and trafficking between them. To do this we are proposing that we use excess samples that have been taken for diagnostic purposes from all three compartments. This will enable us to investigate the disease using cells from different microenvironments and thus identify therapeutic targets that may not be detected using those from a single location.
REC name
South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/SW/0263
Date of REC Opinion
14 Nov 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion