Detecting cancer prior to metastasis greatly increases the efficacy of treatment and the chances of patient survival.
Although numerous biomarkers have been reported to identify aggressive tumor types and predict prognosis, each biomarker is specific for a particular type of cancer, and no universal marker that can predict metastasis in a number of cancers has been identified. In addition, due to a lack of reliability, several markers are typically required to determine the prognosis and course of therapy.
National Insititutes of Health (NIH) inventors, led by Y. Peng Loh, discovered a novel CPE splice variant designated CPE-ΔN and found that its expression levels increase according to the presence of cancer and metastasis wherein this variant is upregulated in tumors and further increased in metastatic cancer.
This data has been demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo experiments and in liver, breast, prostate, colon, and head and neck cancers. Metastatic liver cells treated with CPE-ΔN siRNA reversed the cells from being metastatic and arrested cells from further metastasis. Thus, this novel CPE isoform is a biomarker for predicting metastasis, and its inhibitors have an enormous potential to increase patient survival.
Applications
- Prognosis of multiple types of cancer and determination of the likelihood of metastasis
- Prevention and treatment of cancer with CPE inhibitors
- Determining the stage of cancer development. The technology is currently in the pre-clinical stage of development. Available for exclusive or nonexclusive licensing.
More info: Jennifer Wong, 301-435-4633, wongje@mail.nih.gov
