SPIRIT-Path

Project to develop International Consensus Guidance on the Inclusion of Pathology in Clinical Trial Protocols: The SPIRIT-Path Extension

The SPIRIT initiative aims to help improve the completeness and quality of trial protocols. The evidence-based SPIRIT recommendations were developed using systematic, transparent methodology and broad consultation with 115 experts representing diverse stakeholders involved in the design, funding, conduct, review, and publication of trial protocols.

» Read more about the SPRIT Statement here

The importance of pathology is increasingly being recognised in drug development and conducting clinical trials, from ensuring the correct diagnosis for selecting patients for targeted therapy, platform studies and endpoint validation of pathological complete response.

We therefore feel that an extension to the SPIRIT statement for Pathology will:

  1. Lead to more comprehensive clinical trial protocols
  2. Enhance clinical trial design and drug development through early pathology input
  3. Increase the number and availability of trials-active pathologists by raising the profile of pathologists in clinical trials

Download the SPIRIT-Path Flyer

Aim:

We have set up a steering committee in order to develop international, consensus-based, Pathology-specific protocol guidance in the form of an extension to the SPIRIT statement, a SPIRIT-Path extension.

Phases of the Study:

Phase 1: a systematic review of existing Pathological-specific protocol guidance to generate an exhaustive long-list of candidate Pathological-specific protocol items;

Phase 2: refinements to the long-list and removal of duplicate items

Phase 3: an international stakeholder survey;

Phase 4:  an international Delphi survey

Phase 5: an international consensus meeting

If you are interested in contributing, please register your interest here:

SPIRIT-Path Core Delivery Group

Member Role/Area Institution
Dr Tim Kendall SPIRIT-Path Co-Chair, Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland Representative University of Edinburgh
Dr Max Robinson SPIRIT-Path Co-Chair Newcastle University
Professor David Harrison CM-Path Chair University of St Andrews
Dr Abeer Shaaban CM-Path Member Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham
Dr Dan O’Connor CM-Path Member MHRA
Miss Helen Pitman CM-Path Programme Manager, NCRI Strategic Support NCRI
Dr Ian Lewis Head of Strategy and Initiatives NCRI
Dr Daniel Brierley Delphi Advisor University of Sheffield
Dr Jane Lim Systematic review lead Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

SPIRIT-Path Advisory Group

Member Role/Area Institution
Dr Owen Driskell CM-Path Member NIHR
Dr Nick West CM-Path Member University of Leeds
Dr Maggie Cheang CM-Path Member Institute of Cancer Research
Prof Keith Hunter CM-Path Member University of Sheffield
Prof Clare Verrill CM-Path Member University of Oxford
Prof David Roberts RCPath Representative University of Oxford
Dr An-Wen Chan SPIRIT Representative Women’s College Research Institute,
University of Toronto, Canada
Dr José Palacios Calvo European Society of Pathology Representative Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal
Dr Mark Stewart US representative Friends of Cancer Research
Emma Kinloch Consumer representative Consumer Lead, NCRI
Prof Gary Middleton Clinical Advisor University of Birmingham
Dr Jorge Martinalbo Industry Representative Novartis Oncology
Professor John Bridgewater Medical Oncology Advisor UCL Cancer Institute
Dr Perry Maxwell Tissue Hybridisation & Digital Pathology, Precision Medicine Queen’s University Belfast
Christie Heiberg Centre for Trials Research Cardiff University
Professor Richard Shaw Surgical advisor University of Liverpool Cancer Research Centre
Dr Rowena Sharpe Precision Medicine Trials Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit (CRCTU)
University of Birmingham
Dr Roberto Salgado EORTC Pathobiology Group Representative University of Antwerp
Dr Gayle Jones Australia Representative Cancer Australia