Quality of Life Measures in Barrett's Oesophagus Care Pathways
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessing the Patient Impact and Burden of Current Care Pathways in Barrett’s Oesophagus
IRAS ID
182499
Contact name
James Britton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 17 days
Research summary
The oesophagus (gullet) is a muscular tube which carries food from the mouth to the stomach. In Barrett’s oesophagus (BO) there are changes to the cells lining the lower end of the oesophagus. The cell changes in BO, over time, can become precancerous (also called dysplasia). Patients are diagnosed with this condition when referred for endoscopy. Approximately 0.33% of BO patients will develop oesophageal cancer each year. The cancer risk is similar to that of patients with a strong family history of breast cancer. Oesophageal cancer, once invasive (advanced), carries a poor prognosis (<13% of patients survive 5 years). Although the risk of developing cancer is low patients are often advised to have their condition monitored by means of repeated endoscopies with samples (biopsies) every 2-5 years. The British Society of Gastroenterology has published clear guidelines for BO surveillance intervals and treatment pathways for dysplasia. Pending the completion of The Barrett’s oesophagus surveillance study there remains no robust evidence that surveillance is actually beneficial to patients. In the interim patients and physicians continue to carry out these care pathways with very limited data on their impact on patients quality of life, psychological well being and perceived cancer risk.
Primary research questions:
1) To assess the impact of current BO care pathways on patients Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL)
2) To explore other potential factors causing a reduced HRQOL. This will include patient’s perceived risk of cancer, trust in their physician, overall disease understanding, anxiety and depression and the burden of endoscopy itself.
This research will be conducted by means of a postal survey with further questionnaires around the time of their endoscopic surveillance and outpatient clinic appointments.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/YH/0035
Date of REC Opinion
19 Feb 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion