Prospective Myositis Cancer Screening Guideline Assessment
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Prospective Assessment of the Utility of the 2023 Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy Cancer Screening Guideline
IRAS ID
360218
Contact name
Alexander Oldroyd
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
7 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) is a rare, long-term autoimmune disease that mainly causes inflammation in the muscles, leading to weakness and other health problems. Importantly, about one in four adults with IIM are also diagnosed with cancer—often within three years of their IIM diagnosis. Unfortunately, cancer outcomes in these patients are generally poor.
In 2023, an international group of experts developed the first official guideline to help doctors screen for cancer in people with IIM. The guideline recommends that doctors:
- Assess each patient’s individual risk of developing cancer,
- Use appropriate screening tests, and
- Repeat screening at recommended intervals.However, it is not yet clear how well this guideline works in practice, or whether it is equally effective for patients in different countries.
This new study will test the usefulness of the 2023 guideline by collecting information from IIM patients in three international centres: Manchester (UK), Melbourne (Australia), and Toronto (Canada). The researchers aim to see how accurate the guideline’s risk assessments are when applied to real patients. They will also look for ways to improve the recommendations to ensure they are as reliable and helpful as possible.
By refining the guideline, the study hopes to improve early cancer detection in people with IIM, ultimately giving patients better chances of timely treatment and improved outcomes.
REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/WM/0019
Date of REC Opinion
29 Jan 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion