CIRCULER, Version 1.0

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Comprehensive Analysis of Circulating Biomarkers in patients with ER-positive advanced or metastatic breast cancer (CIRCULER)

• IRAS ID

  148219

• Contact name

  Peter Schmid

• Research summary

  The most important area of development in the management of cancer is personalised, targeted treatment. This refers to determining the specific genetic and molecular abnormalities in each patient's cancer and prescribing the appropriate therapy that targets those abnormalities. This molecular information is normally obtained by taking tissue samples. However tumour tissues change throughout the course of the treatment, which means that samples have to be taken continually. As taking these samples is invasive, it is not feasible for a patient to go through this several times.
  Recently, ways have been found to find the genetic and molecular abnormalities of cancers by taking a blood sample. This approach uses the fact that cancer cells constantly release small DNA and RNA fragments into the bloodstream which carry tumour-specific alterations. This helps us determine how a specific cancer might respond to treatment or acquires resistance which stops the treatment working.
  Our research programme aims to use the free circulating DNA and RNA from blood samples of cancer patients to define the molecular portraits of hormone-sensitive breast cancers that have spread to other areas. For this, we will take a blood sample from patients with metastatic breast cancer and compare the molecular portraits with an archived sample of the patient’s tumour tissue that was biopsied or taken out some time before. In a smaller group of patients, we will also take blood samples at several time points before and during different treatments to understand how the molecular portraits of breast cancers might change over time and how this can be used to develop better treatment strategies.
  To our knowledge this is the largest programme of its kind. This programme will help us determine how to find the molecular abnormalities but will also help establishing if this technology that can be used for screening, diagnosis and predicting outcomes.

• REC name

  London - City & East Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/LO/0750

• Date of REC Opinion

  2 Jul 2014

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion