Relationship of IENFD and structure to Chronic PMPS v0.2 06/01/16
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The relationship of Intra-epidermal Nerve Fibre Density (IENFD) and structure to Chronic Post-Mastectomy Pain Syndrome (PMPS)
IRAS ID
169582
Contact name
Oliver Daly
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 1 days
Research summary
Post-mastectomy Pain Syndrome (PMPS) is a well recognised complication of breast surgery which is difficult to prevent.
Intra-epidermal nerve fibre density (IENFD) is a measure which has been shown to change in correlation with chronic pain caused by disease, such as diabetes, and there is emerging evidence that cancer patients have a different IENFD compared to healthy controls. We hypothesise that measurement of IENFD at the time of surgery might allow us to identify patients who are more likely to experience chronic pain after breast surgery and therefore possibly allow us to become better at preventing it. To date, IENFD has not been looked at in those experiencing chronic pain after breast cancer surgery.
Our study will use existing tissue from women who consented at the time of their breast surgery for samples to be retained within the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre (ECRC) Tissue Bank. They also consented to be contacted about future research and so we will be inviting them to join the study and complete questionnaires about chronic pain symptoms.
The study is expected to last 2 years, although patients will only be contacted for recruitment within the first 9 months. They will be required to complete questionnaires which should take less than 30 minutes of their time; they will not have to attend hospital or to undergo any treatment and they can request a referral to the chronic pain service should they feel they would benefit from an appointment.
All information about the study, consent forms, and patient questionnaires for the study will be sent by post. The laboratory work required to prepare and analyse the previously collected tissue samples shall be carried out at the ECRC and Western General Hospital, Edinburgh.
REC name
South East Scotland REC 01
REC reference
16/SS/0081
Date of REC Opinion
9 May 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion