We are delighted to give you an update on a research project initially funded by the Sussex Cancer Fund.
Dr Cressida Lorimer examined the management of elderly patients with aggressive brain tumours. There has been an international call for increasing the amount of research specifically aimed at older patients with cancer and there is currently a paucity of clinical trials amongst the neuro-oncology group. Dr Lorimer examined how we can better individualise treatment strategies, assessing patients’ clinical parameters alongside imaging and molecular biomarkers and has presented her work at a number of national and international conferences under the title of the BRITER Study.
Glioblastomas are an aggressive and almost universally fatal form of primary brain tumour, so it is imperative that the quality of life is preserved as much as possible during treatment.
The BRITER study aimed to assess whether you can use changes seen on brain MRI scans to predict who may develop a worsening of quality of life after radiotherapy treatment for a Glioblastoma.
Palliative oncological treatment can be given in the form of radiotherapy, with or without chemotherapy. The aim of this treatment is to extend patients’ lives while maintaining quality of life. Some patients seem to experience worse short term side effects from radiotherapy than others. These can include fatigue, headaches, poor memory and less ability to complete everyday tasks. The BRITER study aimed to assess whether you can use patients’ pre-treatment MRI scans to see if radiological markers can predict those patients who may experience worse acute side effects, as measured by an impact on their quality of life. This could then be used to help patients decide on whether they would like to have radiotherapy as part of their treatment.
The Sussex Cancer Fund’s ethos has always been to support the patient and with potential improved quality of life as a result of this study together with helping the patient to have a more informed choice in their care is something we strive for.
The data has now all been gathered and we excitedly await the analysis and publishing of the findings due to be published in Spring 2023.
A more detailed Summary of Cressida’s research can be seen below.
Summary:
The BRITER study opened to recruitment of patients in August 2019 and closed in September of 2021. The lead researcher was Dr Cressida Lorimer at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust. This Trust also acted as the Sponsor for the study. The study was open across 13 oncology centres in the UK; Sussex Cancer Centre, Kent Oncology Centre, The Royal Marsden NHS Trust, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Mount Vernon Hospital, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals Foundation Trust, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, University Hospitals Birmingham, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre and Edinburgh Cancer Centre. It was funded by contributions from The Sussex Cancer Fund and BrainsTrust and there were no competing interests declared.
In the design of the study, patient and public involvement was sought through the Sponsor, The Brain Tumour Charity and BrainsTrust patient and carer focus groups. Their feedback was instrumental in restructuring the protocol and PIS to make the design of the study clearer to understand. They unanimously agreed that the objectives of the study were worth pursuing and that it was a valid study question.
The BRITER study aimed to assess whether you can use changes seen on brain MRI scans to predict who may develop a worsening of quality of life after radiotherapy treatment for a Glioblastoma. Glioblastomas are an aggressive and almost universally fatal form of primary brain tumour. Prognosis is limited and in the older age group is around 6 months. Palliative oncological treatment can be given in the form of radiotherapy, with or without chemotherapy. The aim of this treatment is to extend patient’s lives while maintaining quality of life. Some patients seem to experience worse short-term side effects from radiotherapy than others. These can include fatigue, headaches, poor memory and less ability to complete everyday tasks. The BRITER study aimed to assess whether you can use patients’ pre-treatment MRI scans to see if radiological markers can predict those patients who may experience worse acute side effects, as measured by an impact on their quality of life. This could then be used to help patients decide on whether they would like to have radiotherapy as part of their treatment.
Eligible patients were those aged 65 or over who had been newly diagnosed with a Glioblastoma and were being planned for radiotherapy treatment to the brain, with or without chemotherapy. Patients underwent an extra MRI scan of their brain prior to treatment and then filled in questionnaires designed to assess their quality of life. They also had a nurse-led assessment including memory testing before starting treatment, 3-5 weeks after finishing radiotherapy and 7-9 weeks after finishing radiotherapy.
The BRITER study originally aimed to recruit 100 patients however due to the COVID pandemic the number of patients who completed their questionnaires and assessments was less than predicted. We therefore submitted an amendment and increased the recruitment total to 127. This was reached in the winter of 2021. There were no adverse effects reported during the study.
The results of the BRITER study are not yet available. Follow up data was completed on the 31.12.21 and ongoing data analysis is being performed. We are predicting this data should be available by Spring of 2023.
