A study looking at how to diagnose mouth cancer (PANDORA)

This study is looking at a new way to diagnose mouth cancer.

To diagnose mouth cancer doctors often cut a small piece of tissue from the affected area. This is called a scalpel biopsy. By looking at the tissue under the microscope, they can see if the cells are cancerous.

In this study the researchers are looking at a new way of collecting cells without taking a scalpel biopsy. They are also looking at a new way to test whether the cells are cancerous. They will use a small brush (like a toothbrush) to collect the cells. This is called a brush biopsy. They will then test the cells using a method called dielectrophoresis (dye-el-ek-tro-for-ee-sis).

Dielectrophoresis involves putting the cells into a device that contains an electric field and a small camera to watch their movements. As cancerous cells are different from normal cells, their movements within the electric field should be different. We know from that cancer cells and normal cells behave differently during dielectrophoresis.

The researchers will take brush biopsies from people who have mouth cancer and from people who don’t have mouth cancer. They will use dielectrophoresis on the cell samples and compare the results. The aims of this study are to find out

• How well dielectrophoresis works in identifying cancer cells

• If brush biopsies can collect enough cells to use for dielectrophoresis

Please note – you will not benefit directly from taking part in this study and it will not affect any treatment you may have. It is possible that the results of this study may help to improve how mouth cancer is diagnosed in the future.