Quantification of neutrophil accumulation in lung cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Quantification of neutrophil accumulation in the lungs of patients with early stage lung cancer
IRAS ID
88980
Contact name
Edwin Chilvers
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals
Research summary
Neutrophils are the most common type of white blood cell found in the bloodstream. Their main role is to protect us from infection by destroying invading microorganisms. Therefore, they form an essential part of our immune system. Neutrophils are also found in areas of acute and chronic inflammation such as in chronic obstructive airways disease (COPD), rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease.
Inflammation is a prominent feature of many tumours including lung cancer. Strong evidence suggests that inflammation not only increases the risk of cancer development but also promotes cancer growth and subsequent metastasis. Specifically, the presence of neutrophils and their product neutrophil elastase has been associated with a poor prognosis in many cancers. However, little is known about the mechanisms involved in this.
We have previously studied the behaviour of neutrophils in the body by purifying neutrophils from patients’ blood, labelling them with a small amount of radioactivity and then re-injecting them into the donor. Sensitive scanners then allowed us to follow the labelled cells as they exit the bloodstream and appear elsewhere in the body including sites of infection and inflammation. In order to control for neutrophils simply leaking out of the blood vessels, we will also follow the course of labelled transferrin, a proteinaceous substance isolated from the patients' blood, after re-injection.
Recently, we successfully used SPECT/CT, a scanning technique that provides high resolution 3D images and allows us to identify regional neutrophil accumulation within the lungs of patients with COPD and healthy volunteers. We now wish to use this method in order to study the behaviour of neutrophils in patients with early stage lung cancer. The aim is to find out more about the association of neutrophilic inflammation and lung cancer.REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/EE/0130
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jun 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion