Real-time molecular diagnosis of oral precancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Real-time molecular diagnosis of oral precancer
IRAS ID
307234
Contact name
Mads Bergholt
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King’s College London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 31 days
Research summary
The “Real-time molecular diagnosis of oral precancer” or the LIP study is testing a new device for the detection of cancer in the mouth.
Oral cancers are serious and devastating illnesses, especially if detected at a late stage. Currently, the detection of oral cancer relies on testing a biopsy, which involves cutting a small section of tissue from the mouth and sending it to the pathology laboratory for further testing. A doctor or dentist taking the biopsy must rely on their own eyesight and experience to spot areas of concern. It can therefore be difficult to detect the earliest stages of cancer. At times, cancer tissue is only detected because it has already developed, and this affects the success of the treatment.
The device we are testing in this study uses a laser beam to scan areas inside the mouth and a computer collects information about the scan. The goal of this project is to train the computer software in the device to recognise pre-cancer and cancer from normal scans. We will do this by scanning patients who need to have a biopsy due to suspected pre-cancer or cancer in the mouth. We will use biopsy reports to tell the software which scans were from pre-cancer or cancer or non-cancer tissues. We will include volunteers with healthy oral tissue to further test the computer software. We also aim to collect pilot safety data and feedback regarding the use of this device. If successful, we hope the results from this pilot study will lead to a bigger trial to further study how the device can be used for cancer diagnosis.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/YH/0131
Date of REC Opinion
17 Jul 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion