Outpatient endoscopic biopsy for head and neck cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Comparing the use of outpatient endoscopic biopsy in a diagnostic head and neck cancer clinic to the traditional general anaesthetic panendoscopy pathway
IRAS ID
291238
Contact name
Alison Lim
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 2 days
Research summary
The diagnostic cancer clinic has been set up to improve urgent suspicion of cancer (USOC) waiting times, speed up time to definitive tissue diagnosis, and subsequently lead to earlier treatment of laryngeal cancer. We would like to look at the patient and user experience in outpatient endoscopic biopsy and compare it with panendoscopy under general anaesthetic. We will also look at the diagnostic accuracy of endoscopic biopsy. This study will not change practice, but instead look at the established outpatient and inpatient pathways that are currently being used in our centre.
We will include patients who have been referred for endoscopic biopsy as part of the USOC head and neck cancer pathway. Patients will be given a questionnaire following their outpatient or inpatient procedure, asking them about their experiences of the biopsy.
Medical professional using the biopsy equipment will be asked to complete a different questionnaire, specifically asking about user experience of endoscopic biopsy equipment. Two types of equipment are used in the outpatient endoscopic biopsies, Ambu disposable and Olympus reusable kit. Both of these kits will be included in the study and compared with each other and against panendoscopy.
Our secondary outcomes will be to assess the impact of outpatient biopsy, against panendoscopy, on cancer waiting times, cost efficiency and procedural complications. We will also assess the users acquisition of competence when learning to use the endoscopic biopsy equipment.REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/WM/0168
Date of REC Opinion
31 Aug 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion