2010 UALC
Julien Sage, PhD
Stanford University
Research Project:
Biomarkers for Small Cell Lung Cancer
Summary:
Early detection of cancer remains one of the most important factors in successful treatment. Using a mouse model of small cell lung cancer, Dr. Sage will be investigating novel blood biomarkers for SCLC. His team will use both mass spectrometry and bioinformatics to identify these biomarkers and then validate them in additional mice. The overall goal will be to then validate these markers in human patients to enable early detection of SCLC through a simple and inexpensive blood test.
More Content:
Final Report
The underlying hypothesis of this proposal was that plasma SCLC biomarkers exist. Biomarkers will be required to accurately detect this deadly cancer and potentially identify disease stage and predict survival. One aim of the project focused on using mass spectrometry, completed and published in Cancer Cell in 2011. Interestingly, the sequencing of the cancer genome for SCLC, which was published in Nature Genetics in 2012, identifies the same markers as sometimes mutated in SCLC. In addition, Dr. Sage and his team have also identified several candidate proteins, focusing on a single lead protein, identified from the genomic analysis of gene expression microarray data. Dr. Sage and his collaborators have submitted a paper on this lead candidate to be published in 2013. Also, the team is initiating a clinical trial with PCSK-1 to determine if this marker can help identify patients with SCLC.
Notable Accomplishments
Dr. Sage, in collaboration with Dr. Sam Hanash (another UALC grantee), has published his work in the journal Cancer Cell and has another manuscript under review. Data from this funding period also helped Dr. Sage and his collaborator renew a large grant from the National Institutes of Health, leading to $2 million in follow-on funding.