REFINE translational sub-study

The REFINE translational sub-study is a study being run within the REFINE trial. Participation in the sub-study is optional.

What samples are being collected in the REFINE Translational Sub-study?

Patients who opt to participate in the REFINE translational sub-study will be asked to provide two additional blood samples prior to each dose of checkpoint inhibitor treatment. These are called trough blood samples.

In addition to blood sample collection access to a tissue sample collected during a previous biopsy (or operation) before your study treatment started is requested.

What will be done with the samples collected in the REFINE Translational Sub-study?

The blood samples will be tested to help us understand the relationship between drug exposure (how often the patient receives the drug and how long it lasts in the body) and how the cancer responds.

The biopsy sample will be tested to better understand patient response to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, both in terms of understanding differences in how individual patients experience treatment and also whether there are any predictive biomarkers to treatment response or dose frequencies.