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Contact the study team using the details below to take part. If there are no contact details below please ask your doctor in the first instance.

Contact Information:

Miss Maxine Tran
+44 7708914622
rf-tr.kidneycancerresearch@nhs.net


Study Location:

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Be Part of Research - Trial Details - Can a nuclear medicine scan (MIBI-kidney) tell us if a mass in the kidney is cancer?
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Can a nuclear medicine scan (MIBI-kidney) tell us if a mass in the kidney is cancer?

Not Recruiting

Open to: All Genders

Age: Adult

Leeds London London Exeter

Medical Conditions

Kidney cancer

This information is provided directly by researchers, and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information. In some summaries, you may come across links to external websites. These websites will have more information to help you better understand the study.


In the UK, over 13,000 people are diagnosed with kidney tumours every year. Most are detected by chance on scans performed for other purposes. Standard treatment is surgical removal of the tumour together with part or the whole kidney, which carries serious risks and reduces overall kidney function. However, not all kidney tumours are cancers and up to 3 in 10 are benign (most are oncocytomas) which do not cause harm and do not need removal. Currently, to tell if a tumour is benign or cancer requires having it surgically removed or having a biopsy. However, a biopsy is still an invasive procedure and most patients experience pain, and bruising, and must stop blood thinning tablets beforehand to reduce the risk of bleeding. Some patients and doctors also worry about ‘cancer spillage’ from disrupting the tumour during a biopsy.

New studies from the USA, Sweden and China show that a type of nuclear medicine scan called ‘sestamibi’ (MIBI-kidney) can distinguish cancer from benign kidney tumours. MIBI-kidney scans use very small doses of radio-active tracer and are safe, non-invasive and painless. They are currently used in the NHS for other indications, such as parathyroid and heart scans, and we have successfully performed a small study for patients with kidney tumours in our hospital.

This feasibility study will find out if MIBI scans can be used for patients with kidney tumours, and will also assess patient and clinician acceptability. The results will help design a larger multi-centre study to fully test the effectiveness of these scans in the NHS.

Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.  

The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:

01 Oct 2022 28 Feb 2024

Publications

2023 Protocol article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36693694/ (added 25/01/2023)

Taking part involves agreeing to attend the nuclear medicine department for a MIBI-kidney scan, in addition to other routine appointments. The visit involves an injection of the study tracer 75 minutes before the study scan. The visit will take 2-3 hours in total. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires on their quality of life before the scan and 24-72 hours afterwards. Additionally, participants will be invited to participate in an audio-recorded interview on their perceptions of the scan, and complete a survey on decision making with respect to health care choices.


We will invite people diagnosed with kidney tumours who are planning to have either a biopsy or surgery, to take part in this study and consent to have a MIBI scan.

You can take part if:



You may not be able to take part if:


1. Females who are pregnant, planning pregnancy or breastfeeding2. Concurrent and/or recent involvement in other research that is likely to interfere with the intervention within 3 months of study enrolment3. Multiple comorbidities which would make trial participation difficult (e.g. burden of an additional hospital visit).4. Allergy to 99mTc Sestamibi


Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.

  • Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
    St. James's University Hospital Beckett Street
    Leeds
    LS9 7TF
  • Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
    Royal Free Hospital Pond Street
    London
    NW3 2QG
  • Guy's Hospital
    Great Maze Pond
    London
    SE1 9RT
  • Royal Devon & Exeter Foundation Hospital
    Barrack Road
    Exeter
    EX2 5DW

We cannot promise the study will help you but the information we get from this study may help improve the treatment of people diagnosed with kidney tumours in future.
Taking part in this study means an additional visit and nuclear medicine scan, which means inconvenience in terms of travelling time and time spent having the investigation. This is recognised and participants are offered £60 in vouchers or cash from the Hospital’s cashier office to compensate for this. The scan also involves exposure to a small radiation dose. The study has been reviewed by a medical physics expert, clinical radiation expert and the REC which have considered the risk to be very small. Ionising radiation can cause cancer which manifests itself after many years or decades. The risk of developing cancer as a consequence of taking part in this study is estimated as 0.07% (1 in 1429). For comparison, the natural lifetime cancer incidence in the general population is about 50% (1 in 2). The injection into the vein may cause pain and bruising, though we anticipate this to be temporary. MIBI scans have been in routine use in the NHS to investigate other conditions including the parathyroid and heart muscle, there have been no reports of any significant adverse events. Participation in this study is therefore considered low risk.

Miss Maxine Tran
+44 7708914622
rf-tr.kidneycancerresearch@nhs.net



The study is sponsored by University College London and funded by National Institute for Health Research; The Urology Foundation; Royal College of Surgeons of England; St Peter’s Trust for Kidney Bladder and Prostate Research; Pan London Cancer Alliance.



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Read full details for Trial ID: ISRCTN12572202
Last updated 25 January 2023

This page is to help you find out about a research study and if you may be able to take part

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