Clinical Research Directory

Evaluation, in Humans, of the Correlation Between Hepatotoxicity, Neurotoxicity Induced by Oxaliplatin, and Blood Levels of HMGB1

Oesogastric and pancreatic adenocarcinomas are poor-prognosis cancers. Incidence of pancreatic cancer drastically increases to such an extent that it will become the second cause of cancer's mortality by 2030. A major challenge is to optimize the therapies for localized setting, when oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy is the standard, before and after surgical excision. Because in 50% of cases oxaliplatin triggers a grade 2-3 sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) which increases post-operative morbidity, decreases histological response to chemotherapy, increases tumor recurrence, and aggravates the risk of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). There is an urgent need to better understand the biological processes involved in SOS, in order to prevent and treat it without stopping or reducing oxaliplatin administration. The biological link between oxaliplatin and SOS has not been described, but recent murine experiments argue for HMGB1 to be the mediator released after exposure to oxaliplatin and inducing SOS, and thereafter CIPN. To date, no biomarker is established between murine and patient analyses, and the release of HMGB1 after oxaliplatin treatment and its effect on hepatic parenchyma is not described in patients. Investigators hypothesized is that HMGB1 would also been increased in patients after oxaliplatin treatment, and correlated to the development of SOS and CIPN. If confirmed, personalized treatment will be possible to target this pathway. Therefore, investigators propose to dynamically explore this hypothesis in localized oesogastric and pancreatic cancer patients who will be routinely managed by an initial laparoscopy and post-oxaliplatin surgical excision.

IMaC - Immune Pathways in Oesophagogastric Cancer

The number of cases of oesophagogastric cancer is increasing every year. Currently, only 39% of patients with oesophageal cancer can have potentially curative treatment by the time they are diagnosed. This is because it typically presents late, and it is only when patients start to develop symptoms of advanced disease such as difficulty swallowing and weight loss, that they seek medical attention. There are approximately 9300 new cases of oesophageal cancer in the UK each year and at 17%, it has the 5th poorest 5-year survival of all cancers in the UK. It is diagnosed by carrying out a camera test called a gastroscopy which allows a biopsy of the cancer to be taken. This is an invasive procedure, and unlike for other types of cancer, such as bowel cancer, there is no test to risk-stratify patients at an earlier stage. Risk-stratification enables patients more likely to develop oesophagogastric cancer to be identified, which allows them to have more focused follow-up. This can potentially enable cancer to be diagnosed earlier, before the disease becomes more advanced, allowing patients to have potentially curative treatment. Scientific research has identified that the healthy bacteria in the oesophagus and stomach changes as oesophagogastric cancer develops. The investigators want to see if similar changes can be identified in the healthy bacteria in the mouth which could be indicative of cancer developing in the oesophagus or stomach. The investigators then hope to use this information to develop a non-invasive risk-stratification tool that can be used to diagnose oesophagogastric cancer earlier and thereby enable more patients to be cured.