Dielectric Properties of Matched Tissue Samples From Thoracic Malignancies and Corresponding Normal Tissues

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of the Dielectrics Properties of Thoracic Malignancies Study (DPTMS) is to provide a wealth of knowledge for investigators involved in establishing a new and effective treatment for a variety of solid tumors using tumor treatment fields. It is intended to provide biospecimen (tumor/healthy) together with demographic data (age, sex, race, occupational history, and other epidemiologic information), and clinical data (stage, treatment, survival information, and annotated CT's). Our specific aims are to test the following hypotheses: 1) Electric properties of thoracic tumors differ from electric properties of surrounding healthy tissue 2) Different tumor types will have different electric properties 3) Electric properties of individual tumors are heterogeneous 4) Electric properties of tumors are related to the structure and composition of the underlying tissue 5) Use of standard medical imaging data (CT) will permit mapping of electric properties.

Detailed Description
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Thoracic malignancies represent a significant burden of disease in the US population. Lung cancer, for example, is the most common cause of cancer mortality in the US among both men and women and long-term survival remains poor with a 5-year survival rate less than 20%. There is significant need for additional therapeutic options for all stages of patients. Esophageal cancer, although less common in the US with an incidence of 1% among new cancer diagnosis, also has significant mortality with a similar survival rate of about 20% at 5 years. There are a variety of additional thoracic malignancies that contribute to morbidity and mortality of the US population including mesothelioma and other pleural based cancers and thymoma. All of these thoracic malignancies pose unique challenges that have limited the effectiveness of current therapies, necessitating the development of new and innovative approaches. Tumor treatment fields (TTF) have recently been established as a new and effective treatment for a variety of solid tumor malignancies. TTF provides a unique ability to deliver targeted and sustained therapy via an LCR meter. TTF has shown promise for some of the most aggressive malignancies such as glioblastoma and therefore should be considered for aggressive thoracic malignancies as well. In order to develop a TTF protocol that is both efficient and efficacious, the electric field properties of target tumors must be understood. Although well established for some tumors, the complete electric properties of thoracic malignancies as they apply to TTF is still not fully understood. The proposed project is to address this gap of knowledge. Our plan is to analyze 3-5 tissue probes acquired from 30 patients with a variety of thoracic malignancies. Tissue will be acquired in the operating room and will be analyzed immediately. The investigators will plan to acquire tissue from each type of malignancy including: lung cancer, esophageal cancer and pleural based tumors. After acquisition of data, the investigators will assess the data and continue to acquire patients to obtain significant estimates of overall tissue properties in each type of tumor. The investigators will offer all patients at our center undergoing resection of thoracic malignancies the opportunity to participate in the study. After undergoing an informed consent process in accordance with IRB approval, patients with be formally enrolled. The LCR meter used for electric property analysis of the tissue will be positioned on and secured to a movable cart so that it can be brought to the operating room for rapid tissue analysis following surgical excision of the tumor. Impedance measurements will be collected on multiple sections of excised tissue and will be translated into dielectric properties. All tumor electric property data will be stored securely and remain anonymous of patient identifying data.

Official Title
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Determination of Dielectric Properties of Matched Tissue Samples From Thoracic Malignancies and Corresponding Normal Tissues

Conditions
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Lung Cancer, Esophageal Cancer, Mesothelioma; Lung

Intervention / Treatment
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* Device: LCR Meter (Brand: Keysight, Serial Number:E498AL)


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Diagnosis of thoracic malignancies Able to provide informed consent Scheduled for diagnostic or treatment related surgical procedure Exclusion Criteria: Inability to undergo surgery Unable to provide informed consent
Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Dielectric Properties of Tissue Samples from Thoracic Malignancies and Corresponding Normal Tissues<br>Our plan is to analyze 3-5 tissue probes acquired from 30 patients with a variety of thoracic malignancies. The investigators will plan to acquire tissue from each type of malignancy including: lung cancer, esophageal cancer and pleural based tumors. Tissue will be acquired in the operating room. Impedance measurements will be collected on multiple sections of excised tissue and will be translated into dielectric properties. After acquisition of data, the investigators will assess the data and continue to acquire patients to obtain significant estimates of overall tissue properties in each type of tumor. After undergoing an informed consent process in accordance with IRB approval, patients with be formally enrolled. All tumor electric property data will be stored securely and remain anonymous of patient identifying data. | Device: LCR Meter (Brand: Keysight, Serial Number:E498AL)<br>* The LCR meter is used for electric property analysis of tissues. It works by measuring impedance on multiple sections of excised tissue and translating those measurement into dielectric properties.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Impedance measurements in different frequencies | The impedance measurements in different frequencies will be collected on multiple sections of excised tissue and will be translated into dielectric properties. The conductivity and relative permittivity measurements in frequencies range (20Hz-1MHz) of tissues will be collected and analyzed. | During Surgery | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Dielectric Properties, Thoracic Malignancies