Project description:microRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNA molecules that act as regulators of gene expression. Circulating blood miRNAs offer great potential as cancer biomarkers. The objective of the study was to correlate the differential expression of miRNAs in tissue and blood in the identification of biomarkers for early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC). miRNA biomarker discovery via miRNA array profiling using paired cancer tissues (n = 30) and blood samples (CRC, n = 42; control, n = 18).
Project description:We explored the differential methylation patterns found in cfDNA between no neoplasia (NN; individuals with no colorectal findings, benign pathologies and non-advanced adenomas) and patients with advanced neoplasia (AN; advanced adenomas and colorectal cancer) using pooled samples, for the discovery of non-invasive methylation biomarkers for CRC screening. cfDNA was extracted from serum samples and methylation measurements were assessed with the Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip. Data was mainly preprocessed and analyzed with R/Bioconductor packages.
Project description:Colorectal cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The 5-year annual survival is less than half of the incidence rate that is predominantly due to late diagnosis of the disease striking the very urgent clinical necessity for biomarkers capable of detecting cancer malignancy at an early onset. During neoplastic transformation, cells undergo several behavioral changes that subsequently result in defects in cell division, immune tolerance, inflammation, and cellular death mechanisms. These processes lead to the development of tumor antigens (TA) that evoke an immune response and subsequent generation of antibodies against self-proteins, called autoantibodies (AAbs). This study aims to identify autoantibody biomarkers in patient’s sera for early screening of the cancer. High-density human proteome array having approximately 17,000 full-length recombinant human proteins were used in the study. The generation of an autoimmune response against important cancer-linked pathways could be important in terms of screening for the disease. The process of immune surveillance starts as tumorigenesis begins and hence autoantibodies can be detected in a very early stage of cancer. Moreover, AAbs can be easily extracted from blood serum through the least invasive test for disease screening.
Project description:The molecular mechanisms of clinical response or resistance to therapy were evaluated in colorectal cancer patients in a prospective biomarker discovery project. Rectal adenocarcinomas, biopsied before (diagnostic biopsy) and after (surgical resection) pre-operative short-course radiotherapy [RT] or 5-flurouracil (5-FU)-based chemoradiotherapy [CRT], were profiled using Affymetrix HGU133 Plus 2.0 microarrays. Tumour tissues from untreated controls at diagnosis and surgical resection were used to identify treatment-independent gene expression changes. Candidate resistance biomarkers were identified in this pilot study for validation in a larger cohort.