Project description:Purpose: Using the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial samples, we identified cell-free DNA (cfDNA) biomarker candidate genes bearing the epigenetic mark 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) that detect occult colorectal cancer (CRC) up to 36 mo prior to clinical diagnosis. Methods: PLCO study subjects were matched by age, race, and sex as cases (n = 201, diagnosed with CRC within 36 mo of blood collection) and controls (n = 402, no cancer diagnosis on follow-up, average 16.3 years after entering the study). Archived plasma samples (300 µL per study subject) were obtained from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and we employed the sensitive 5hmC-Seal chemical labeling approach on 3 - 8 ng of extracted cfDNA. Following next-generation sequencing (NGS) and genome-wide mapping of 5hmC, we then conducted association studies and machine-learning modeling to analyze the genome-wide 5hmC profiles within training and validation groups that were randomly selected at a 2:1 ratio. Results: Robust genome-wide 5hmC profiles were successfully obtained from these decades-old samples. Association analyses using the Cox proportional hazards models suggested several epigenetic pathways relevant to CRC development distinguishing cases from controls. A weighted Cox model, comprised of 32-associated gene bodies, showed predictive detection value for CRC as early as 24-36 mo prior to overt tumor diagnosis. Furthermore, a trend for increased predictive power was observed for blood samples collected closer to CRC diagnosis. Notably, the 5hmC-based predictive model showed comparable performance regardless of sex and self-reported race/ethnicity, and significantly outperformed risk factors such as age and obesity assessed as BMI (body mass index). Conclusion: An assay and machine learning modeling of 5hmC epigenetic signals on cfDNA revealed candidate biomarkers and a scoring algorithm with the potential to predict CRC occurrence despite the absence of clinical symptoms or the availability of effective predictors. Developing a minimally-invasive clinical assay that detects 5hmC-modified biomarkers holds promise for improving early CRC detection and ultimately patient outcomes. Future investigations to expand this strategy to prospectively collected samples are warranted.
Project description:DNA methylation in colorectal cancer diagnosis. The Illumina GoldenGate Methylation Cancer Panel I was used to select a set of candidates markers informative of colorectal cancer diagnosis from 807 cancer-related genes. In the discovery phase, tumor tissue and paired adjacent normal mucosa from 92 colorectal patients were analyzed.
Project description:We have used Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip array profiling to profile paediatric high grade gliomas within the HERBY clinical trial. The HERBY trial was a phase-II open-label, randomised, multicentre trial evaluating bevacizumab in patients with newly-diagnosed non-brainstem HGG between the ages of 3-18yrs. The 450K methylation array was used to separate brain tumour samples on the basis of their methylation profiles which represent the cell of origin the time and place in which tumours arise. Methylation arrays provide data for an integrated molecular diagnosis of brain tumours and define specific molecular subgroups and subtypes of high grade gliomas carrying distinct driver mutations and patterns of somatic alterations.
Project description:Proteome characterization of the neoadjuvant clinical trial PROMIX.
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00957125
Patients received six rounds of chemotherapy with epirubicin and docetaxel, and if PR or PD after the second course, bevacizumab.
Project description:MITO16/MaNGO-OV2 (NCT01706120) is a multicenter, phase IV, single arm trial for advanced stage IIIB-IV or recurrent, previously untreated, ovarian cancer patients receiving carboplatin, paclitaxel plus bevacizumab for six 3-weekly cycles followed by bevacizumab single agent until progression or unacceptable toxicity up to a maximum of 22 total cycles. The trial that was specifically designed with a translational primary endpoint to explore if selected clinical and biological factors could identify ovarian cancer patients with better prognosis in terms of progression free survival and overall survival after combined first-line treatment with chemotherapy plus Bevacizumab. The translational study, designed together with the clinical trial, the translational study implicated the collection of patients’ tissue (formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded – FFPE) and blood samples. Gene expression profile was among the molecular analyses proposed on FFPE samples.