None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Colorectal cancer can develop in the colon (large bowel) and/or rectum. If left undetected, it can spread to lymph nodes and other organs in the body in a process called metastasis. It is thought that the immune system plays a role in preventing some cancers from growing or spreading. However, we do not fully understand why the immune system fails to prevent all cancers. New therapies called ‘immunotherapy’ have been developed that target the immune system in order to treat cancer once it is detected. Unfortunately, this type of treatment does not work well for most individuals with colorectal cancer. This project aims to investigate whether an immune system process called ‘tolerance’ may explain why the immune system fails to prevent colorectal cancer from growing and spreading. The project also aims to investigate whether ‘tolerance’ may explain why immunotherapy is not effective for most individuals with colorectal cancer. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 18 years or older, you have been diagnosed with a stage 4 colorectal cancer and you have been scheduled to undergo surgery to remove your primary tumour, lymph nodes and other affected sites as part of your cancer treatment. Study details If you choose to enrol in this study, you agree that the study investigators may take samples from the tumour, lymph nodes, blood and other affected tissues for this study. Participants will also be asked to grant permission for the investigators to review and collect details of their medical history from their records. The investigators will then complete a series of analyses on the samples to determine whether 'tolerant' cells are present and may explain why immunotherapy does or does not work against these cancers. It is hoped that knowledge gained from this project may contribute to the development of new and better treatments for individuals with colorectal cancer in the future.
Interventions
Individuals with stage IV colorectal cancer who are planned to undergo surgery to remove their primary tumour +/- metastatic disease as part of their routine cancer care will be recruited to this study. At the time of surgery, once the specimen has been surgically resected, a number of fresh tissue samples will be obtained from the specimen for the research study. These samples will include lymph nodes, a small sample of the primary tumour, a sample of normal tissue, and a sample of a metastasis
Individuals with stage IV colorectal cancer who are planned to undergo surgery to remove their primary tumour +/- metastatic disease as part of their routine cancer care will be recruited to this study. At the time of surgery, once the specimen has been surgically resected, a number of fresh tissue samples will be obtained from the specimen for the research study. These samples will include lymph nodes, a small sample of the primary tumour, a sample of normal tissue, and a sample of a metastasis. These samples will be obtained by a senior colorectal surgeon under the supervision of pathology staff. In addition, a blood sample (up to 40ml) will be taken from the participant via their routinely inserted peripheral vein cannula once the participant is under general anaesthesia or at the appropriate time prior to surgery co-ordinated with diagnostic sampling by the anaesthetist. Samples obtained will be processed for single cell RNA sequencing analysis. Remaining tissue, cells and plasma that have been isolated from tissue and blood will be cryopreserved and stored in a secure manner. Participants will not be required to attend any follow up study visits for this study. The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre hospital electronic medical record will be reviewed from time of initial diagnosis up to 3 years post-surgery for all participants who choose to enrol. Only relevant clinical data regarding the participant will be obtained and stored in a secure and de-identified manner. This will include basic demographics, diagnosis, stage and site of primary tumour, site(s) of metastatic disease, prior anti-cancer treatment, relapse date, death date and follow up dates, past and concurrent medical history, and concurrent medications at time of surgery.
Sponsors
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1. Subjects must have voluntarily provided written informed consent for the study. 2. Subjects must be at least 18 years of age at the time of consent. 3. Subject must have histologically confirmed or suspected colorectal adenocarcinoma. 4. Subjects must have stage IV disease based on the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual 8th edition. 5. Subjects must be undergoing surgical resection of their primary tumour at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre as part of their routine oncological care.
Exclusion criteria
1. Subjects unable to voluntarily provide written informed consent. 2. Subjects with stage I-III colorectal cancer. 3. Any medical or psychosocial reason that in the opinion of the investigator would make the subject inappropriate for the study.
Outcome results
None listed