Brain UK study ref: 21/002,

Lay summary,

Project status: Active

Investigating a Surrogate Marker to Distinguish Astrocytomas and Oligodendrogliomas

Dr Kathryn Urankar, North Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

Over 12,000 people in the UK develop a tumour that starts in their brain each year. That’s over 30 people every single day. Different brain tumours grow at different rates, and each one is best treated in a different way. It is extremely important to reach the correct diagnosis as quickly as possible, because this gives every patient the best chance of survival and recovery.

Doctors normally diagnose the type of tumour by taking a small piece and looking at it down a microscope. However, this does not always give a clear diagnosis as some tumours can look very similar to each other. Other tests often need to be carried out to confirm the type of tumour. Some of these tests can be slow, perhaps taking weeks before reaching the answer. This can delay lifesaving treatment for patients.

We wish to try out a faster test, known as a ‘surrogate marker’. This involves ‘staining’ a piece of tumour on a glass slide. The appearance of this stain could be used to rapidly tell the difference between certain types of brain tumour – perhaps even leading to a same day diagnosis.

We wish to investigate how well this marker can tell the difference between two of the commonest brain tumours in UK adults: astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas. We hope that our results will reduce the time patients with these types of brain tumours have to wait before they can start treatment.