Retrospective analysis of advanced MRI in brain tumour patients

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Retrospective analysis of advanced MRI in brain tumour patients

  • IRAS ID

    213920

  • Contact name

    Sotirios Bisdas

  • Contact email

    s.bisdas@ucl.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University Colllege London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    3 years, 0 months, 0 days

  • Research summary

    There are a number of different types of brain tumour which grow and change at different speeds, and different therapies are available to most effectively treat each type of tumour. It is difficult to predict the moment at which a change in the tumour will demand a change in therapy. The most aggressive treatments include brain surgery, which has the risk of irreparably damaging brain functions leaving the patient with different degrees of disability.
    At the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques have been introduced since 2004 to assess: (1)brain function and connection between important areas of the brain prior to surgery, with the aim of providing otherwise unavailable and reliable information to the surgeon to reduce the risk of causing a deficit to the patient; (2)the blood flow in the brain and (3)the concentration of various compounds in both healthy and diseased brain tissue.
    Over time, advancements have been made in data analysis strategies and in 2016 a new classification of the various types of brain tumours has been introduced, based on the genetic information present in the tumour tissue.
    The purpose of this study is twofold. (1) To determine if new analyses of the advanced MRI data acquired can be of further help to surgeons to further reduce the risk of causing post-operative disability. (2) To determine if the advanced MRI techniques introduced over the years, when analysed with the new analysis methods and compared with the new tumour classification, can help predicting the level of aggressiveness (staging) of brain tumours earlier. If this is the case, we hope that this will enable doctors to choose the most effective treatment as the tumour changes and, by doing so, increase the patient’s chances of survival.
    Patients' confidential data will not leave the UCLH NHS Trust (A27-3)

  • REC name

    North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    18/NW/0395

  • Date of REC Opinion

    18 May 2018

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion