Outcome Prediction Tests in Lung Cancer-Associated Pleural Effusion (OPTICAL)

Research summary

The pleura are two thin layers of tissue which cover the outside of the lungs. The pleura are vulnerable to many different diseases, including cancer from elsewhere in the body. The commonest cancer which spreads to the pleura is lung cancer. When this happens, the pleura become irritated and produce fluid which fills the space where the lung would normally be. This collection of fluid is called a pleural effusion and can make a patient very breathless. In general, a patient with cancer and an effusion has a much lower life expectancy than someone without one. We do not know why this is, however, or why some people survive longer than others. Each effusion and how it affects someone can also be very different. These differences make it very hard to know which the best way to treat effusions, or what will happen to someone with one. We will ask 100 patients with lung cancer who also have an effusion to join this study. Over 6 months, the study team will collect health information, blood samples, and pleural fluid samples from each person. We will then use some of the latest methods to look at the DNA of cancer cells which are floating in the fluid. We will look for patterns to help doctors understand why some people survive longer, what really happens to an effusion over time, and why one person’s effusion is different to another’s. We hope that finding these patterns will enable us to make new, useful tests which will help other patients in the future.

Principal Investigator

Mr Eihab Bedawi

Contact us

Email: samantha.chilcott@ndm.ox.ac.uk

IRAS number

340605