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Using Pleural Effusions to Diagnose Cancer

Clinical Identification of Malignant Pleural Effusions in the Emergency Department

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03319472
Acronym
MAPED
Enrollment
439
Registered
2017-10-24
Start date
2013-11-21
Completion date
2018-11-21
Last updated
2019-12-10

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Pleural Effusion

Keywords

malignant, cancer, simple bedside test, rapid, score, widely available, feasible

Brief summary

Pleural effusions (PE) are common conditions that signal either infection or cancer. The investigators aim to develop, validate, and prospectively assess the MAPED score, a clinical score that predicts malignancy at admission. This tool will assist clinicians all over the world to rapidly assess the probability of an effusion being malignant within 4 hours of admission.

Detailed description

Background: Pleural effusions (PE) are common conditions that signal either pleural-disseminated infection or cancer. While these diagnoses bear tremendous importance for patients, they require invasive procurement of pleural tissues and/or cells and time. Simple and rapid diagnostic markers of pleural malignancy at admission that streamline diagnostic and treatment efforts remain unidentified. Objective: To develop, validate, and prospectively assess markers of malignancy of PE at admission. Methods: A prospective cohort of patients with PE from different etiologies will be recruited stating on 11.21.2013 and prospectively ending on 11.21.2023. Data will be collected within 4 hours of admission including history, chest X-ray, and blood and pleural fluid (PF) cell counts and basic biochemistry. Pleural fluid and serum will be biobanked for future analyses. Patients will sign informed consent forms. Diagnosis will be confirmed using standard microbiology, cytology, histology, and imaging techniques. Patients undiagnosed within a month will be excluded. Variables will be entered into binary regression and receiver-operator analyses using malignancy as the target to develop the MAPED score, a clinical score that predicts malignancy at admission. MAPED will be retrospectively validated in separate published cohorts from the first therapeutic interventions in malignant effusion (TIME) 1-3 trials from Oxford UK. Data will be censored and analyzed three times, at 40-month intervals since study initiation.

Interventions

None listed

Sponsors

University of Patras
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Pleural effusion * Hospital admission * No previous pleural procedure * Age \> 18 years * No previous chemoradiotherapy * No antibiotic therapy during previous trimester * All history, chest X-ray, and pleural and blood cell counts and biochemistry entry data obtained within 4 hours after admission

Exclusion criteria

* No diagnosis at one month post-admission * No informed consent provided * Age \< 18 years * History, chest X-ray, or pleural and blood cell counts and biochemistry entry data obtained later than 4 hours after admission

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Diagnosis of MalignancyOne month post-admissionCytologic or histologic evidence of malignant cells or tissues in the pleural space.

Countries

Greece

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026