Qualitative study investigating the underlying motivations of healthy participants in phase I clinical trials.

Objectives: If patients are to reap the benefits of continued drug development, an understanding of why healthy participants take part in phase I clinical trials is imperative. The current study aimed to explore the nature of these underlying motivations which may, in turn, improve the overall participant experience and assist in the development of more effective recruitment and retention strategies.

Design: This study used a qualitative design based on the theory of planned behaviour.

Differential subcellular and extracellular localisations of proteins required for insulin-like growth factor- and extracellular matrix-induced signalling events in breast cancer progression.

Background: Cancer metastasis is the main contributor to breast cancer fatalities as women with the metastatic disease have poorer survival outcomes than women with localised breast cancers. There is an urgent need to develop appropriate prognostic methods to stratify patients based on the propensities of their cancers to metastasise. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I: IGF binding protein (IGFBP):vitronectin complexes have been shown to stimulate changes in gene expression favouring increased breast cancer cell survival and a migratory phenotype.

Fasting increases serum bilirubin levels in clinically normal, healthy males but not females: a retrospective study from phase I clinical trial participants.

Aim: To examine if fasting affects serum bilirubin levels in clinically healthy males and females.

Methods: We used retrospective data from phase I clinical trials where blood was collected in either a fed or fasting state at screening and predosing time points and analysed for total bilirubin levels as per standard clinical procedures. Participants were clinically healthy males (n=105) or females (n=30) aged 18-48 inclusive who participated in a phase I clinical trial in 2012 or 2013.

Multiple types of data are required to identify the mechanisms influencing the spatial expansion of melanoma cell colonies.

Background: The expansion of cell colonies is driven by a delicate balance of several mechanisms including cell motility, cell-to-cell adhesion and cell proliferation. New approaches that can be used to independently identify and quantify the role of each mechanism will help us understand how each mechanism contributes to the expansion process. Standard mathematical modelling approaches to describe such cell colony expansion typically neglect cell-to-cell adhesion, despite the fact that cell-to-cell adhesion is thought to play an important role.