Researchers Target Test To Detect Cancer Early

By Kashena Jade Konecki and Christine Loftus

When it comes to cancer, early detection offers the most hope for a cure. In the earlier stages of the disease, there are more treatment options available and, as a result, a higher probability of complete recovery.

For this reason, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) in Seattle, Wash. are investigating the possibility of a simple blood test that could detect the molecular signs of cancer much earlier than traditional methods.

A $9.7-million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), awarded this winter, will certainly help. With this two-year grant, FHCRC scientists will lead a consortium of research institutions in developing the technology required for such a blood test. The consortium includes the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Wash., Pacific Northwest National Laboratories in Richland, Wash., and the Plasma Proteome Institute in Washington, D.C.

The idea for a cancer blood test is based in proteomics, an emerging field of molecular biology in which proteins, rather than genes, are analyzed as indicators of specific conditions. Scientists predict that the human genome codes for up to one million different proteins, and the challenge is to determine which of these proteins are expressed in abnormal amounts by cancer cells. These key proteins are called biomarkers.

The research consortium led by FHCRC will work to develop a database of biomarkers for various types of cancers. Because this is such a tremendous task, it could only be approached by a multi-institution and cross-disciplinary group of researchers.

To be effective in cancer research, discovery and development, we need to establish a strong basis of comparability of data, especially in proteomics, says deputy director Anna D. Barker of the NCI.

The principal investigator of the award at FHCRC, Martin McIntosh, says that the need for both technological and biological advancements results in a dual focus for the project. The first year of the award will be used to advance the technology required for biomarker research, in the discovery and analysis of protein patterns. The second year will focus on the testing of that technology's ability to accurately detect biomarkers for cancer using mouse models of human cancers.