Use of Lung Tissue to assess effects of Smoking/Vaping in Lung Disease
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Use of Tissue from Lung Resections to Investigate the Impact of Smoking and Vaping on Cellular Function in Human Lung Disease
IRAS ID
219707
Contact name
David Thickett
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 3 days
Research summary
Lung diseases cause pain, breathlessness and can prevent sufferers from carrying out everyday activities. Many lung diseases are either caused by smoking, or made worse by smoking. The impact of smoking and vaping on different cell types within the lungs is not fully understood. By identifying how cigarette smoke and e-cigarette vapour affects different cells within the lungs, we will then be able to investigate whether these effects can be reversed or modified, which could potentially lead to new treatments for lung diseases.
Several lung diseases, including lung cancer, require surgical removal of lung tissue as part of treatment. We would approach patients who are scheduled to undergo thoracic surgery to remove diseased lung tissue as part of their treatment plan, and ask if they would consent to us performing research on the removed lung tissue, which would normally just be destroyed. We would also ask to take a blood sample to compare the findings in the lung tissue and blood. A number of diseases will be studied and the lung tissue will be used in a number of different laboratory studies. We will be able to determine the impact of smoking and vaping on the function of different lung cells in different diseases. The lung tissue will be used to improve our understanding of lung disease which may then lead to the development of new treatments.REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/WM/0272
Date of REC Opinion
11 Aug 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion