DETECTION
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The development of a metabolomic test to diagnose and quantify pancreatic exocrine insufficiency.
IRAS ID
271410
Contact name
Keith Roberts
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospital Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI) (lack of enzymes produced by the pancreas that aid in absorption of food) is very common in pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis and leads to weight loss, malnutrition and gastrointestinal symptoms.
The current diagnostic test has low accuracy, takes days for results to be available and is disliked by patients. It performs particularly poorly after surgery and cannot be used to guide treatment dose with pancreatic enzymes.
Early diagnosis of PEI and correction of malnutrition is a basic and fundamental way to ensure well-being. Treatment with enzymes corrects malnutrition, weight loss, improves symptoms and length of survival. Yet many patients do not receive enzyme therapy. One major barrier to treatment are the failings of current diagnostic tests which mean they are used infrequently leading to lack of appropriate diagnosis. Thus development of a simple blood test to diagnose PEI has the potential to improve diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic failure which will in turn improve outcomes.
This proposal is for a body of work to use the study of metabolites (the end products of metabolism) to develop a ‘fingerprint’ of PEI from a person’s blood. This will potentially enable us to develop a bedside or same day test that can diagnose PEI and can be used to ensure patients are on the correct dose of enzyme therapy. Correct treatment with PERT is associated with symptom improvement, improved quality of life and significant survival advantage.
REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/WM/0358
Date of REC Opinion
12 Dec 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion