DART Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploratory study of early biomarkers allowing Dynamic Assessment of Response to Treatment in cancers of the head and neck
IRAS ID
292101
Contact name
Ben O'Leary
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Royal Masden NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
If cancer that starts in the head or neck is not suitable for surgery or radiotherapy then it cannot be cured. Unfortunately, people in this situation have a short life expectancy, with half dying within 12 months. There are treatments available that have helped people in this situation live longer, most recently drugs that stimulate the body’s own immune system to attack the cancer, known as ‘immunotherapy’. Some people do very well on these treatments, living many years, while the same treatments offer no benefit to others – it is not known why.
This study is looking at collecting samples of a person’s cancer, along with other body fluids, particularly blood and saliva, to see if we can track changes in blood and saliva that happen in a person’s cancer while they are receiving treatment. Additionally, samples of the cancer will be used to see if they can be grown in the laboratory to test growth behaviour and how well different treatments work.
We will ask people being treated for incurable cancer that started in the head and neck for permission to collect their blood and saliva, along with samples of their cancer tissue, while they are having treatment. Nearly all patients will require a sample of their cancer tissue taken with a needle (a ‘biopsy’) anyway, and tissue samples can be taken as part of this process. Similarly, the safe administration of cancer drugs requires blood tests before every course of treatment, and research bloods can be taken from the same blood draw. A small number of people will be asked whether they give their permission for an extra biopsy of their cancer to allow further comparisons in the laboratory.REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SC/0188
Date of REC Opinion
28 Jul 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion