FIBRO-SAM
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development of Airway Absorption Sampling Methods for Biomarker Assessment in Probable Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) Patients
IRAS ID
239911
Contact name
Melissa Wickremasinghe
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 30 days
Research summary
We would like to measure airway inflammation in probable idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and sarcoidosis as well as healthy volunteers. This can help us understand the molecular basis of these diseases, why these diseases happen, and what makes patients develop lung fibrosis. These insights should one day help to monitor patients and aid in their diagnosis and treatment.
IPF is a progressive disease caused by irreversible scarring of the lung, and disease trajectory is not easily predicted based on clinical measurements. Biomarkers reflective of molecular pathways involved in IPF may help inform patient trajectory, but have been difficult to identify in circulation due to the disease manifesting in the lung. We would like to measure biomarkers from Probable IPF patients, sarcoidosis patients, and healthy volunteers using novel sampling methods involving absorption of upper and lower airway fluids. These novel sampling methods may enable less invasive and potentially more sensitive methods to detect disease activity and will be performed in IPF and sarcoidosis patients during a routine bronchoscopy procedure. We will compare the levels of biomarkers that have been shown to be predictive of disease course in airway fluids of probable IPF patients versus sarcoidosis and healthy controls. This study may help us understand the molecular basis of IPF, and improve our understanding of diagnosis and treatment.
REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
20/WA/0075
Date of REC Opinion
11 Jun 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion