Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Assessment of Right Ventricular Inflammation After Lung Resection - a Feasibility Study

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the UK and is the leading cause of cancer related death. Where appropriate, surgery to remove the tumour and the surrounding lung (lung resection) provides the best chance of cure. Frequently patients are either current or ex-smokers with related lung or heart problems which increase the risks associated with surgery. Following surgery patients may suffer long term shortness of breath, greatly limiting their day-to-day function and lowering quality of life. The investigators believe this shortness of breath is not solely caused by the removal of part of the lung but also from a decrease in the performance of the heart. Although the surgery does not directly involve the heart it is thought that the damage is caused indirectly by the surgery and by the removal of part of the lung.

In a previous study, the investigators showed that the function of the right side of the heart (the right heart) is decreased following lung resection. The decrease in right heart (the part that supplies blood to the lungs) function was associated with a prolonged stay in the high dependency unit and blood markers indicating damage to the heart. The process by which the damage occurs is poorly understood, but it is thought that an increase in the forces preventing the right heart pumping blood (resistance) is to blame. The decrease in function in the right heart may be triggered during surgery by the diminished blood supply to the cancerous lung and, and maintained post operatively, as lung resection can cause a long-term increase in resistance.

Diseases that cause an increase in resistance to the right heart have been shown to cause damage to different parts of the right heart. An acute sudden increase in resistance can cause inflammation, thinning and scarring whilst a long-term increase in resistance causes the right heart to thicken. The investigators believe that the potential damage during the operation could cause permanent damage to the right heart and contribute to shortness of breath and functional limitation.

To investigate the potential inflammation/scarring and the function of the heart the investigators will image the heart with specialised Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans.

The aim of the research is to determine whether inflammation occurs in the right heart during and following lung resection and, if so, does it result in scarring?. The investigators will compare the function of the right heart before, during and after surgery to determine if inflammation contributes to the decrease in right heart function following lung resection seen in our previous study. The investigators anticipate that the study will increase understanding of how the right heart may be damaged by lung resection. The investigators believe this will guide further studies aiming to prevent such damage, ultimately limiting the disabling breathlessness and decrease in heart function that so greatly affects patients' lives.