Mutational markers for Barrett’s progression

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Determination of Novel Progression Biomarkers in Barrett’s Oesophagus using Whole Genome and Exome Sequencing

• IRAS ID

  149285

• Contact name

  Rebecca C Fitzgerald

• Contact email

  rcf29@mrc-cu.cam.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Cambridge University Hospitals MHS Foundation Trust

• Research summary

  Barrett’s oesophagus is the only established precursor for a form of cancer of the oesophagus (gullet) called oesophageal adenocarcinoma. Although most patients with Barrett’s oesophagus are regularly followed up in endoscopy (video camera test of the gullet) monitoring programs for evidence of progression towards cancer, most of them will never develop cancer.
  An accurate method for predicting which patients are most at risk for cancer progression would enable resources to be concentrated on this group of patients. It would also mean that patients at low risk could be spared unnecessary invasive endoscopy procedures. One way of doing this would be to develop molecular markers (biomarkers) which when applied to biopsy specimens taken from the oesophagus at endoscopy would highlight individuals at greatest risk.
  The purposes of this study are to:
  - use a cohort of anonymised patient samples that have previously been collected for biomarker research
  - carry out new investigations which were not available when the previous biomarker study ethics were written namely; sequencing of the DNA code (exome and whole genome) to look for mutations in the tissue. The purpose of this will be determine whether there is a genetic way of measuring patients who are likely to progress to oesophageal adenocarcinoma

• REC name

  North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/NW/0252

• Date of REC Opinion

  7 Apr 2014

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion