Tissue analysis for understanding head and neck diseases
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Tissue analysis for stratifying therapy in head and neck diseases
IRAS ID
289677
Contact name
Christian Ottensmeier
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Head and Neck cancer is the 6th most common cancer worldwide. Risk factors for Head and Neck cancer include tobacco consumption, alcohol and viral infections such as Human Papilloma Virus.
In recent years, many diseases have been found to be affected by how the immune system works. There are now new treatments, which target the immune system (immunotherapy). These can be used on their own or together with existing treatments. Promising results have been seen in patients with different types of diseases, including head and neck
diseases.So far only a small number of people benefit from immunotherapy. This is because we still do not fully understand how immunotherapy works and how to choose the right treatment for the right person.
SARS-CoV-2 is a viral infection causing a global pandemic. It is not clear what factors contribute to the severity of the disease and whether recovery from the acute infection protects against future re-infection. There may be a link between a good anti-cancer immune response and immune response against viral infections.
We would like to look at blood and tissue samples from patients with head and neck cancer and other non-cancer head and neck diseases. We will establish if these patients have had previous exposure to known viral infections such as SARS-CoV-2 and Human Papilloma Virus to better understand how the immune system works.
The purpose of this project is to improve our knowledge of how the immune system works in head and neck and viral diseases.
Our long term aim is that the results will guide us to developing better treatments for a range of diseases including viral infections and cancer.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/SC/0406
Date of REC Opinion
23 Nov 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion