OPUS-DI

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    OPtoacoustic imaging with UltraSound (OPUS) in the differentiation of benign and malignant breast disease.

  • IRAS ID

    187672

  • Contact name

    Fiona Gilbert

  • Contact email

    fjg28@cam.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    CUHNFT andUniversity of Cambridge

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 2 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    This is a pilot study in patients attending the Cambridge breast unit. The study aims to understand the capabilities of a new imaging technique called opto acoustic imaging OPUS in differentiating benign from malignant lesions in the breast.

    OPUS is a technique which exploits the way different tissue types absorb light. We will be measuring the absorption of oxy/deoxy haemoglobin, fat and water using OPUS.

    Angiogenesis (abnormal growth of blood vessels) is an integral hallmark of cancer. The production of new blood vessels, is induced early to support pre malignant (cancerous) and malignant (cancerous) phases in the multistage development of invasive cancers.

    Hypoxia is a condition caused by a insufficient supply of oxygen to support the activities of a cell (metabolism). It can occur during several pathological processes e.g. interruption of the blood supply. This can occur in stroke/myocardial infarction, or when a cancer outgrows its vascular supply. When otherwise healthy tissues lose their O2 supply acutely, the cells usually die, whereas when cells gradually become hypoxic, they adapt to promote their survival. These changes can promote metastatic spread. The consequence of these changes is that patients with hypoxic tumors invariably experience a poor outcome to treatment.

    We aim to use optoacoustic imaging to make surrogate measurements of angeogenesis, hypoxia, fat and water content and enhance the diagnostic accuracy of current imaging modalities.

  • REC name

    East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    16/EE/0052

  • Date of REC Opinion

    16 Mar 2016

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion