PROTBIOFLUID

PROTEOMIC IDENTIFICATION OF BIOMARKERS IN BIOFLUIDS AND IN PRECLINICAL MODELS FOR THE EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS OF CANCER (PROT*BIO*FLUID)

 Partecipanti

Mappa

 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'1.6 million people are killed worldwide each year due to ovarian, endometrial, bladder and prostate cancers. The key to making treatment breakthrough is early diagnosis. PROTBIOFLUID is a new network for developing innovative early diagnostic techniques and for spreading this knowledge through the medical community by a systematic exchange of staff to create high impact benefits to patients and transform the way these cancers are managed. Our overall science objective is to study biofluids in cancer patients in order to determine specific proteomic profiles to lay the foundation for the development of a simple to use diagnostic tool that will become ubiquitous in the medium-to-long-term. Our objectives to create this impact are: 1. Establish new methods for proteomic identification of biomarkers in biofluids for the early diagnosis and prognosis of cancer 2. Evaluate molecular markers and therapeutic targets of metastasis through the use of preclinical animal models Currently the know-how to reach these objectives exists but the field is highly fragmented. Therefore, we need this IRSES project as a catalyst for a focused network to create the critical mass to solve very pressing treatment problems. We have selected leading research partners with established relations of trust and reciprocity and who bring the correct combinations of complementary expertise. To effect the interlinking of research lines we have designed a systematic exchange of both very senior staff and those at earlier phases of their career. Through this mechanism we will achieve both high level knowledge exchanges as well as knowledge transfer through teaching and ‘hands on’ experience of best practice. At the end of the PROTBIOFLUID we will have agreed a framework for joint programming between partner institutions. This first nucleus of teams will be the core of a growing network of excellence that will transform both what and how things are done in the treatment of these deadly cancers'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Early detection of cancer greatly increases the chances for successful treatment. Better diagnostic and cancer management techniques are required to achieve this goal.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Millions of deaths occur annually worldwide as a result of ovarian, endometrial, bladder and prostate cancers. Early diagnosis is a key factor to achieve treatment breakthrough and better patient outcomes.

To broach and address this issue, the EU-funded PROTBIOFLUID project created a network to develop early cancer detection techniques and spread this knowledge in the medical community.

From the very beginning, this project acted as a catalyst for organising a focused scientific network. This network includes leading research partners with the required complementary expertise.

Together, they are developing specific proteomic and metabolomic profiles in biofluids. Urine is used for urological diseases and uterine aspirates and blood for gynaecological diseases. These could act as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis in ovarian, endometrial and prostate cancers as well as biomarkers for cancer prognosis in endometrial, bladder and ovarian cancers. Researchers have also studied the prognosis of these tumours in relation to specific molecular events.

Tumour invasion in many types of cancer is triggered by epithelial-mesenchymal transition with the participation of E-cadherin, a transmembrane protein. Researchers observed that the relation between E-cadherin and one of its variants defines the prognostic value of the tumours. In endometrial and ovarian cancers, specific attention was focused on unveiling the process of myometrial infiltration and ovarian dissemination regulated by ETV5 transcription factor.

To evaluate future therapies, they developed prostate and endometrial animal models derived from cell lines that can be followed-up in vivo to study the progression of the tumour. They have also developed endometrial animal models derived from human tissue (PDX models) that mimic the molecular alterations found in the human tissue counterpart. These tools make it possible to determine drug efficacy and characterise the role of different targets in an accurate manner.

At the conclusion of the PROTBIOFLUID project, partners plan to create a framework for joint programmes between their institutions. This nucleus of teams would form the core of a growing network working on developing innovative treatments for these deadly cancers.