We are planning to develop a study which we are seeking funding for, to explore using interviews and focus groups on:
- what patients feel about using different topical treatments to prevent skin cancers, and
- how to improve recruitment strategies for immunosuppressed people to clinical trials in the future.
We are specifically looking for a patient partner to develop the project.
Background to the project
Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is one of the most common skin cancers in the UK, with numbers increasing by 5% every year. Immunocompromised people (people with a weakened immune system) have a much higher risk of developing cSCC. Their risk of developing cSSC is about 100 times greater than individuals with a normal immune system. However, there has been little research into how to prevent cSCC developing in people with weakened immune systems.
We are currently running a trial called SPOT-IT (cutaneous SCC Prevention using tOpical Therapy in Immunosuppressed patienTs). This trial will compare how effective two cream treatments are in preventing cSCC in immunocompromised patients: 5FU cream (a form of topical chemotherapy) or 5FU+CAL (5FU combined with a vitamin D ointment called calcipotriol), compared with standard care (sunscreen and regular monitoring).
The SPOT-IT trial is collecting some basic data on how acceptable these treatments are to patients, but we need to gain more detailed understanding of individual patient experiences of using these different treatments.
The SPOT-IT VOICES Study aims to provide a detailed understanding on how acceptable the treatments are to patients, how easy it is to use the treatments and how well patients tolerate the creams. We also aim to better understand the challenges of including immunocompromised patients in clinical trials and explore ways to address these.
We will carry out in-depth interviews with a sample of patients in the SPOT-IT trial who are using the different treatments. We will interview a variety of patients (e.g. different ages, gender, geographical locations and with different health backgrounds) which represent a range of experiences, and we will interview some patients who withdraw from the trial to understand their experiences of taking part in research. We will also interview healthcare professionals and members of the SPOT-IT Trial team about their views on the treatments and to understand the barriers and facilitators to including immunocompromised patients in clinical trials.
Who we are looking for
We are specifically looking for a patient partner in this project. We would be looking for an individual who has a background of lowered immune system as a result of medications or has an organ transplant and may have a history of having had a skin cancer.
The help we require is helping us to define the questions that we need to ask and also how best to develop our project.
We anticipate this would take 2–3 hrs per month, for a 30 month project which aims to start in 2027, but we would be keen for support in developing the proposal before then (approximately 5 hours, which would include joining online teams meetings and reading and commenting on documents).
Reimbursement
The partner will be costed in for their involvement in the study i.e. for the 30 months. Please contact Rubeta Matin (information below) for details.
Date required
1st May 2026
Organisation
Dermatology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Contact
Dr Rubeta Matin: rubeta.matin@ouh.nhs.uk
Clinical Trial Registration Details
This is an exploratory study extending from this clinical trial already open to recruitment:
https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/centre-for-trials-research/research/studies-and-trials/view/spot-it