CHIME Version 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Characterising the relationship between hypoxia and the immune microenvironment in myeloma
IRAS ID
327995
Contact name
Clare Griffin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 1 days
Research summary
Myeloma is an incurable cancer of abnormal plasma cells; the antibody producing blood cells which reside in the bone marrow. Currently we do not have a good understanding of the causes for treatment resistance in myeloma. In solid tumour research the link between low oxygen levels in tissues (hypoxia) and treatment resistance is well established. In myeloma, experiments on laboratory grown cells and mice have shown that myeloma cells express different genes and have altered metabolism under hypoxic conditions which may be linked with resistance to treatment. There is a need for research into the link between myeloma biology and bone marrow hypoxia in humans, to understand the disease and provide a basis for future drug targets.
Plasma cells rely on the immune cells around them to help growth. We therefore aim to identify the spatial relationship between areas of hypoxia, myeloma cells, and immune cells. We also want to look at how gene expression is different in hypoxic myeloma cells.
Patients with myeloma will undergo a bone marrow biopsy for diagnosis or monitoring as part of their usual care. The procedure collects two types of sample: the liquid part of the bone marrow (aspirate), and a solid biopsy (trephine). The study will use a small volume of the aspirate which will not be needed for routine care and a portion of the trephine, after it has been processed for the necessary routine care samples by the NHS laboratory. We will perform multiplex immunohistochemistry to look at the spatial arrangement of cells and areas of hypoxia, and single-cell RNA sequencing to look at gene expression in hypoxic cells.
The patient will take a tablet before the procedure called pimonidazole which will show up hypoxia in the tests. We will collect samples for ten patients.REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0671
Date of REC Opinion
6 Sep 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion