Liquid Biopsy
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Liquid Biopsy
IRAS ID
158526
Contact name
Eric O'Neill
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford
Research summary
We would like to extract and quantify circulating DNA and exosomes from plasma using healthy volunteers to calibrate the techniques and then compare with plasma taken from patients with pancreatic cancer. We would like to collect body fluids and tissue samples as well as clinical information (disease status, response rate, age at diagnosis and gender) about donors who are coming into the Churchill Hospital for elective surgery for pancreatic cancer. It is known that tumours release circulating DNA into the blood and body fluids and we would like to extract this DNA, quantify it and use it to identify oncogenic mutations associated with breast and pancreatic cancer. We would also like to extract exosomes (small membrane vesicles) which are also released from tumours and may also tell us about the biological state by examining proteins they contain. Cells releasing exosomes have been reported to be resistant to therapeutic drugs and therefore could explain why some people react different to different types of chemotherapy. Therefore, we also would like to determine whether patient derived exosomes have different biological effects by exposing experimental cell lines and monitoring responses. Circulating DNA and exosomes might serve as biomarkers for the early detection and diagnosis of diseases, for determining prognosis, and for prediction of therapeutic efficacy via a molecular pattern of exosomes, which differs from that of the exosomes found either in associated different diseased controls or in normal controls.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1562
Date of REC Opinion
27 Aug 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion