Professor Richard Houlston

National Brain Tumour (NBT) Study

NBT Study

MREC - 07/MRC10/11

The purpose of the National Brain Tumour Study is to establish a DNA resource from individuals and families diagnosed with gliomas (brain tumours), so that we can identify new hereditary and/or environmental factors that may increase the risk of developing these brain tumours.

Gliomas are relatively common cancers in individuals aged between 35 and 49 years old. A subset of cases are associated with inherited cancer syndromes, but these are rare and do not account for much of the familial risk of the disease. This study aims to collect blood samples from a large series of patients with gliomas for genetic research.This resource will be used to identify and characterise mutations conferring an increased risk of the disease.

The risk of developing a primary brain tumour in a person with a relative affected with brain cancer is increased by two to three−fold. Although this could be due to shared environmental factors, the only environmental factor that has been established to increase the risk of primary brain tumours thus far is ionising radiation, which is in itself quite rare.

Unfortunately for most patients the outlook from the disease is poor. Around 5% of patients have a family history of the disease and there is evidence that a greater proportion of relatives have an inherited predisposition. Collecting blood samples from patients with gliomas opens up the possibility of identifying disease causing mutations. Identification of these genes should facilitate early diagnosis and may lead to novel therapeutic approaches. Furthermore, any gene identified may also be involved in the development of other malignancies.

Study type

Observational
Design: genetic epidemiology
Disease: Glioma
Current status: Open
Closure date: 01/04/2015
Sample Size: 5000
Geo Scope: UK
Lead Country: UK

Who’s Eligible?

Individuals diagnosed with a glioma.

Families must have two or more biologically related members who have been diagnosed with glioma. We will also accept controls; however blood relatives and spouses of the cases are not eligible.

We ask for two blood samples from study participants

Chief investigator: Professor Richard Houlston
Funder: NIH (National Institutes Of Health)
Sponsor: Institute of Cancer Research

Study Documents can be found on the right.

Download the annual newsletter for research nurses

NBT 2011 annual newsletter 173KB

Contact Us

If you have any questions please contact the NBT study co-ordinator on 020 8722 4431 or NBTstudy@icr.ac.uk
NBT study
Institute of Cancer Research
Brookes Lawley Building
FREEPOST SEA9632
Sutton, SM2 5NG.